Antonio Maria Buhagiar, OFM Cap, born Spiridion Salvatore Constantino Buhagiar or Buhadgiar (19 November 1846 – 10 August 1891) was a prelate of the Catholic Church of Maltese heritage who led ecclesiastical jurisdictions in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

and

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and also worked briefly in the diplomatic service of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

just before he died.

Biography

Buhagiar was born to a family of immigrants from Malta on 19 November 1846 in

Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It i ...

, Greece. He joined the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...

in Malta on 20 December 1863 and was ordained a priest on 18 September 1869. In 1872 he began twelve years of pastoral work as a missionary in Sfax, Tunisia. He survived the July 1881 siege of Sfax, when the city revolted against the establishment of the French protectorate in Tunisia. On 12 August 1884,

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

named him Vicar Apostolic of Tunis and titular bishop of Ruspae. He received his episcopal consecration on 31 August 1884 from Charles-Martial-Allemand Lavigerie, Archbishop of Algiers. He became auxiliary bishop in November 1884 when the vicariate became the Archdiocese of Carthage with Archbishop Lavigerie at its head. On 14 April 1885, Pope Leo named him Apostolic Administrator of the

Archdiocese of Malta The Archdiocese of Malta (Malti: ''Arċidjoċesi ta' Malta'') is a metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in Malta. History Tradition claims that St. Paul the Apostle established the diocese of Malta in the year 60 A. ...

, with the consent of the British officials governing Malta who conveyed Buhagiar to Valletta aboard the British warship HMS ''Helicon''. There he issued a warning to Catholics against joining the Primrose League, a non-sectarian conservative organization combatting "anarchy and atheism". He wrote: "Its object is religious, but as it was not born within the fold nor approved by the Church, ... it may prove dangerous for Catholics to belong to an association whose creed essentially differs from ours". He held that post until the appointment of Pietro Pace, a Maltese native preferred by the British to Buhagiar with his long history with the French, as Bishop of Malta on 11 February 1889. On 28 November 1890, Pope Leo appointed him Apostolic Delegate to the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. Buhagiar died of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

on 10 August 1891 at the age of 44.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buhagiar, Antonio Maria 1846 births 1891 deaths People from Cephalonia Franciscan bishops Apostolic Nuncios to the Dominican Republic Apostolic Nuncios to Venezuela Apostolic Nuncios to Haiti