Francisco de Santiago y Calderón (5 February 1669 - 13 October 1736) was a

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clergyman and

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

for the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Antequera, Oaxaca The Archdiocese of Antequera, Oaxaca () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Mexico. The cathedral church is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in the episcopal see of Oaxaca. It was erecte ...

. He was appointed bishop 6 July 1729, and ordained bishop on 19 June 1730. He died on 13 October 1736.

Early life, education, and career

De Santiago was born in

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, in the

diocese of Cuenca The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cuenca () is a Latin Church diocese located in the city of Cuenca in the ecclesiastical province of Toledo in Spain.

. He joined the Order of La Merced. He was a lecturer in

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at a convent school in Huete, and later taught

sacred theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

at the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca () is a public university, public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of León, King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the ...

and at that of Alcalá. He then became rector of the ancient University of Madrid. He was recommended to be Bishop of Guatemala in 1728. As an established Spanish academic administrator and theologian, he was a safe choice for the Church in

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. He was appointed bishop 6 July 1729, and ordained bishop on 19 June 1730.

Work as bishop

De Santiago was elected bishop and had a parade in his honor upon his arrival to Oaxaca on 21 December 1729. He was ordained as bishop on 19 June 1730. His Principal Consecrator was Bishop José Félix Valverde, Bishop of Caracas, Santiago de Venezuela, and was assisted by two priests, Father Paul de Velasco Campos and Manuel Hidalgo. (Normally, co-consecrators are bishops, but in 18th colonial dioceses, getting three bishops together in one place was difficult, so it was common that priests, especially Monsignors, would be deputized in exigencies.) His first act as bishop was to consecrate the new Cathedral. Continuing the campaigns of the

Counter-reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

, and in particular those of his predecessor Bishop Maldonado, de Santiago fought against non-Christian practices termed "

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", accepted the Dominican concept of the 15 mysteries, and increased the number of

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teachers in his diocese between 1730 and 1734, although he was only partially successful in stamping out Zapotec syncretic practices like

ancestor worship The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...

. Bishop de Santiago created rules in 1731 for confradías to organize and pay for festivals, which were later copied by other dioceses in Mexico. In July 1735, de Santiago, in his ecclesiastical role as judge of a

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court,

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several local government officials for "alleged

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is also well document ...

and

child sacrifice Child sacrifice is the ritualistic killing of children in order to please or appease a deity, supernatural beings, or sacred social order, tribal, group or national loyalties in order to achieve a desired result. As such, it is a form of human ...

," and eventually imprisoned them for

. He completed building the Cathedral, including two towers and a clock, and was famous for giving

alms Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving. Etymology The word ''alms'' come ...

. In 1735, De Santiago also consecrated the temple and convent of Saint Francis of Assisi in Oaxaca. He died on 13 October 1736.

References

{{reflist 1669 births 1736 deaths Spanish Roman Catholic bishops in North America