Luis Antonio Belluga y Moncada (30 November 1662 – 22 February 1743) was a prominent

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

churchman and statesman during the 18th century.

Biography

Born in

Motril Motril () is a town and municipality on the Mediterranean coast in the Granada, Spain. It is the second largest town in the province, with a population of 60,368 as of 2016. The town is located near the Guadalfeo River and is from Granada. Hi ...

Granada province Granada is a province of southern Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Albacete, Murcia, Almería, Jaén, Córdoba, Málaga, and the Mediterranean Sea (along the Costa Tropical). ...

, he was ordained at the age of 14. He served as a

lector Lector is Latin for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages it takes various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as french: lecteur, en, lector, pl, lektor and russian: лектор. It has various specialized uses. ...

at the cathedral of Córdoba,

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

at the cathedral of Zamora, and professor in the Colegio de Santiago in

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

. He supported

Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mon ...

and the

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish ...

during the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

, and was named by Philip bishop of Cartagena on 9 February 1705, as well as viceroy of Valencia and Murcia.

Pope Clement X Pope Clement X ( la, Clemens X; it, Clemente X; 13 July 1590 – 22 July 1676), born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 April 1670 to his death in July 1676. Elected pope at ag ...

named him cardinal on 29 November 1719. He served as

Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals The Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals was the treasurer of the College of Cardinals in the Catholic Church. The title is based on an Italian word for chamberlain, a word no longer used in secular contexts. The position existed from at ...

(1728–1729), and as a

crown-cardinal A crown-cardinal ( it, cardinale della corona) was a cardinal protector of a Roman Catholic nation, nominated or funded by a Catholic monarch to serve as their representative within the College of Cardinals and, on occasion, to exercise the rig ...

(circa 1732). He undertook major

urban development Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

and revitalization schemes in Murcia and in

Vega Baja del Segura Vega Baja del Segura (in Spanish) or Baix Segura (in Valencian) is a ''comarca'' in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain. To the north its neighbouring ''comarcas'' are the Baix Vinalopó and Vinalopó Mitjà. Its southern limits ...

, where he initiated the colonization of uncultivated lands, founded new towns, established a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

for theologians, drained

swamps A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

, and built hospices and hospitals. The Plaza del Cardenal Belluga in Murcia is named after him. The

Cathedral of Murcia A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, the episcopal palace of the

Diocese of Cartagena The Diocese of Cartagena ( la, Carthaginen(sis) in Hispania) is the diocese of the city of Cartagena in the Ecclesiastical province of Granada in Spain.Rafael Moneo José Rafael Moneo Vallés (born 9 May 1937) is a Spanish architect. He won the Pritzker Prize for architecture in 1996, the Royal Institute of British Architects, RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 2003 and Venice Biennale, La Biennale's Golden Lion in 2 ...

) are found on this square. In 1736, he provided support to the Capuchin

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

Francesco Orazio della Penna when the latter sought help for his mission in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

.Catholic Encyclopedia: Tibet
/ref>

Notes

Resources

(es) Díaz Gómez, J.A. (2017), Luis Antonio Belluga: trayectoria de un cardenal oratoriano y su vinculación a la Chiesa Nuova, ''Annales Oratorii'' 15: 121-154.
* (es
Díaz Gómez, J.A. (2016), Arte y mecenazgo en las fundaciones pías del cardenal Belluga bajo los reales auspicios de Felipe V. La irrenunciable herencia filipense, en M.M. Albero Muñoz y M. Pérez Sánchez (eds.), ''Las artes de un espacio y un tiempo: el setecientos borbónico:'' 57-75. Madrid: Fundación Universitaria Española.
* (es
Linage Conde, A. (1978), Una biografía inédita del cardenal Belluga, por el obispo de Ceuta Martín Barcia (1746), ''Murgetana'' 52: 113-134.
* (es
López-Guadalupe Muñoz, J.J. (2004), El mecenazgo artístico del Cardenal Belluga: la Capilla de la Virgen de los Dolores en la Iglesia Mayor de Motril, ''Imafronte'' 17: 81-112.
* (es) Vilar Ramírez, J.B. (2001), ''El cardenal Luis Belluga''. Granada: Comares. {{DEFAULTSORT:Belluga y Moncada, Luis de 1662 births 1743 deaths Bishops of Cartagena 18th-century Spanish cardinals