Cayetano Ripoll ( ca, Gaietà Ripoll i Pla) (1778, in allegedly from
Solsona – 26 July 1826, in
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
) was a Spanish schoolmaster who was executed for teaching
deist
Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin '' deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, and asserts that empirical reason and observation ...
principles. He is considered to be the last known victim of the
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...
, although technically the Inquisition no longer existed at that time and it was the
Junta de Fe of Valencia, until having him hanged by the
civil authority
Civil authority or civil government is the practical implementation of a state on behalf of its citizens, other than through military units (martial law), that enforces law and order and that is distinguished from religious authority (for exampl ...
.
[
][
English translation of an account of Ripoll's trial and execution.
]
Life
Ripoll was a soldier in the Spanish army during the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
(1807–1814). He was captured by French forces and was a prisoner of war. While being held by the French he was taken to France and there he associated with a group of
Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
and became aware of
deism.
He soon became a deist.
Upon returning to Spain, he used his position as a school master to teach others about deism. There he was soon accused by the
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...
of being a deist and of teaching his students about deism. He was later arrested for heresy and held in jail for close to two years.
Accusation
The Chairman of the Board of Faith from the
Diocese of Valencia, Miguel Toranzo, an inquisitor, sent to the
nuncio Archbishop of
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
a report that said Ripoll did not believe in
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
, in the mystery of the
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...
, in the
Incarnation
Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...
of
God the Son
God the Son ( el, Θεὸς ὁ υἱός, la, Deus Filius) is the second person of the Trinity in Christian theology. The doctrine of the Trinity identifies Jesus as the incarnation of God, united in essence (consubstantial) but distinct in ...
, in the Holy
Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
, in the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
, in the
Holy Gospels, in the
infallibility of the Holy Catholic Church, or in the
Apostolic Roman Congregation. Ripoll did not fulfill his
Easter duty, he discouraged children from reciting the '
Ave Maria Purisima' and suggested they need not bother making the
sign of the cross. It was alleged that, according to Ripoll, it was not necessary to hear
Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...
in order to save one's
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
from
damnation
Damnation (from Latin '':wikt:damnatio, damnatio'') is the concept of Divine judgment, divine punishment and torment in an afterlife for actions that were committed, or in some cases, not committed on Earth.
In Ancient Egyptian religion, Anci ...
, and he failed to instruct them to give due reverence to the
Sacraments of the Catholic Church, even the ''
Viaticum
Viaticum is a term used – especially in the Catholic Church – for the Eucharist (also called Holy Communion), administered, with or without Anointing of the Sick (also called Extreme Unction), to a person who is dying; viaticum is thus a part ...
'' administered for the comfort of the sick and to pardon the dying that they might be
resurrected into
heaven.
Sentence
For these grievous sins and his denial of the
Catechism of the Catholic Church the clergymen of the
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...
requested Ripoll be
burned at the stake
Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...
for his
religious offense
Religious offense is any action which offends religious sensibilities and arouses serious negative emotions in people with strong belief.
Causes
Different religions are sensitive to different things in different measure, particularly such to ...
s in order that he might recant in his agony and thus go to heaven. However, the
civil authority
Civil authority or civil government is the practical implementation of a state on behalf of its citizens, other than through military units (martial law), that enforces law and order and that is distinguished from religious authority (for exampl ...
chose to
hang
Hang or Hanging may refer to:
People
* Choe Hang (disambiguation), various people
* Luciano Hang (born 1962/1963), Brazilian billionaire businessman
* Ren Hang (disambiguation), various people
Law
* Hanging, a form of capital punishment
Arts, e ...
him instead.
Allegedly, the Church authorities, upset that Ripoll had not been burned at the stake, placed his body into a barrel, painted flames on the barrel and buried it in
unconsecrated ground
In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can also ...
. Other reports state that the Church authorities placed his body into a barrel and burned the barrel, throwing the ashes into a river.
Ripoll is recorded as being the last known person to have been executed under sentence from a Church authority for having committed the act of heresy.
Ripoll's famous last words were, "I die reconciled to God and to man."
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ripoll, Cayetano
1778 births
1826 deaths
People from Solsonès
People executed by Spain by hanging
People from Valencia
Executed Spanish people
People executed by the Spanish Inquisition
People executed for heresy
19th-century executions by Spain
Spanish deists