Diego de Astorga y Céspedes (17 October 1663 – 9 February 1734) was a Spanish Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He also served as

Bishop of Barcelona The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Barcelona is a Latin rite Catholic metropolitan archbishopric in northeastern Spain's Catalonia region. The cathedral archiepiscopal see is a Minor basilica: Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de la Santa Creu i ...

Archbishop of Toledo This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana).

Grand Inquisitor Grand Inquisitor ( la, Inquisitor Generalis, literally ''Inquisitor General'' or ''General Inquisitor'') was the lead official of the Inquisition. The title usually refers to the chief inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition, even after the reunif ...

Biography

Diego de Astorga y Céspedes was born in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, then a Spanish town. He obtained a degree on

Canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

at the

University of Granada The University of Granada ( es, Universidad de Granada, UGR) is a public university located in the city of Granada, Spain, and founded in 1531 by Emperor Charles V. With more than 60,000 students, it is the fourth largest university in Spain. Apar ...

and was ordained in 1689. In 1705, he was appointed General Vicar of

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...

(as the bishop,

Vidal Marín del Campo Vidal (, , , ) is a Catalan language, Catalan, Aragonese language, Aragonese, and possibly also Romansh language, Romansh surname, which also appears in French language, French, Italian language, Italian, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Engl ...

, had been named

) and Inquisitor of the

kingdom of Murcia After roughly two decades as a protectorate of the Crown of Castile, the territory of the Taifa of Murcia became the Kingdom of Murcia ( es, Reino de Murcia, links=no, a territorial jurisdiction of the Crown of Castile) in the wake of its Conques ...

in 1710. He was consecrated as

in 1716, being the first non-

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

priest to serve as bishop in Barcelona, due to the abolition of the provisos on foreign bishops in Catalonia by the

Nueva Planta decrees The Nueva Planta decrees ( es, link=no, Decretos de Nueva Planta, ca, Decrets de Nova Planta, en, link=no, "Decrees of the New Plant") were a number of decrees signed between 1707 and 1716 by Philip V, the first Bourbon King of Spain, during ...

, issued by

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 ...

after the austriacist defeat in the

War of the 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 ...

. Four years later, in 1720, he was consecrated as

Archbishop of Toledo This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana).

and therefore

Primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

of Spain. He was also appointed

(although he resigned the same year). In 1727, he was created Cardinal by

Pope Benedict XIII Pope Benedict XIII ( la, Benedictus XIII; it, Benedetto XIII; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May ...

. However, he never received the red hat and the title and did not participate in the 1730 conclave, which elected Pope

Clement XII Pope Clement XII ( la, Clemens XII; it, Clemente XII; 7 April 16526 February 1740), born Lorenzo Corsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1730 to his death in February 1740. Clement presided over the ...

. He was also a member of the

Privy council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

of the king Philip V after his abdication to his son

Louis I Louis I may refer to: * Louis the Pious, Louis I of France, "the Pious" (778–840), king of France and Holy Roman Emperor * Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia (ruled 1123–1140) * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois ( ...

Transparente of Toledo Cathedral - side view 2

He ordered the crafting of ''

El Transparente ''El Transparente'' is a Baroque altarpiece in the ambulatory of the Cathedral of Toledo. Its name refers to the unique illumination provided by a large skylight cut very high up into the thick wall across the ambulatory, and another hole cut int ...

'' of the

Cathedral of Toledo , native_name_lang = , image = Toledo Cathedral, from Plaza del Ayuntamiento.jpg , imagesize = 300px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption ...

Narciso Tomé Narciso Tomé (1690–1742) was a Spanish architect and sculptor of the late-Baroque or Rococo period. Tomé was born in Toro, Spain. With his brother, Diego, he sculpted the facade of the University of Valladolid in 1715. In 1721, he was named m ...

, an example of the intrincated Spanish

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

set behind the main altar of the main chapel (the chapel of the ''Santísimo Sacramento''). The Bishop wished to mark the presence of the Holy Sacrament with a glorious monument, which cost 200,000

ducat The ducat () coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages from the 13th to 19th centuries. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wi ...

s and was the cause of great enthusiasm, even with a poem wherein the monument was acclaimed 'the Eighth Wonder of the World'. Cardinal Astorga y Céspedes died in 1734 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

and is buried at the feet of ''El Transparente'' in the cathedral of Toledo. During his whole career, Bishop De Astorga y Céspedes promoted the devotion to

Our Lady of Europe Our Lady of Europe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Europa or Virgen de Europa) is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary patroness of Gibraltar and protectress of Europe. The entire European continent was consecrated under the protection of Our Lady of ...

, the devotion

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

given to the

Blessed 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 Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

.Historical Notes On Our Lady of Europe. Chapter 7. The Devotion In Barcelona And Madrid
, based on ''History of Our Lady of Europe'', by the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Charles Caruana Charles Caruana CBE (9 October 1932, Gibraltar – 1 October 2010, Gibraltar"Former ...

References

External links

Diego Cardinal Astorga y Céspedes
in catholic-hierarchy.org

Pope Benedict XIII (1724–1730). Consistory of November 26, 1727 (VII) *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Astorga Cespedes, Diego 1663 births 1735 deaths Archbishops of Toledo 18th-century Spanish cardinals Spanish people from Gibraltar Grand Inquisitors of Spain Bishops of Barcelona 18th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Spain