Francisco d'Esquivel or Desquivel (c. 1550 in

Vitoria Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória (b ...

– 21 December 1624 in

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

) was a Spanish archbishop and a major figure in the history of Sardinia.

Life

He was the son of Francisco de Ali d'Esquivel and his wife Maria de Landa. In 1584 he gained degree in civil and church law at the

University of Leon A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, where he later taught for a few years. He became vicar or deputy to the bishop of Castel Rodrigo and around 1595 took charge of the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

. In this post he gained the support not only of the population but also of

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...

, who in 1604 nominated him to be

archbishop of Cagliari The Archdiocese of Cagliari ( la, Archidioecesis Calaritana) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese centred on the city of Cagliari. It holds the Primacy of Sardinia.Pope Paul V confirmed his election to the post on 20 June 1605. In 1606 he took on the post and left the Inquisition on Sardinia in the hands of a deputy, though he remained a point of reference throughout the kingdom of Sardinia due to his experience in the field right up until the appointment of a permanent inquisitor. He called two diocesan

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

s and made several pastoral visits across his archdiocese, generally giving a positive assessment of its parish priests but punishing those who did not meet the requirement to remain resident in their parish. On his initiative and that of his predecessors, the city council and parliament, the

University of Cagliari The University of Cagliari ( it, Università degli Studi di Cagliari) is a university in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. It was founded in 1606 and is organized in 11 faculties. History The ''Studium Generalis Kalaritanum'' was founded in 1606 alon ...

was set up via a papal bull of 1606 and a royal diploma of 1620. He also set up a diocesan seminary and both this and the university were staffed by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

In 1618 he set up a teaching institution dedicated to teaching the ruling classes their cultural background – such teaching had previously been very poor, except for those who could afford to study in mainland Spain or Italy. This 'Collegio dei nobili' was still operational in 2015 as the 'Convitto nazionale Vittorio Emanuele', having been renamed during the Risorgimento. At the time of his holding office, there was a campaign of

polemic Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...

s over whether the archbishop of Sassiari or of Cagliari should have primacy in Sardinia. The archbishop of Sassiari supported his claim by rehousing the recently rediscovered relics of Saint Gavino, Saint Proto and Saint Gianuario in the new

Basilica of San Gavino The Basilica di San Gavino (Basilica of Saint Gabinus) is a proto- Romanesque church in Porto Torres, Sardinia, Italy. A former cathedral, it is now a place for the veneration of local martyrs and a parish church. History Turris Libisonis (Lati ...

Porto Torres Porto Torres ( sdc, Posthudorra, sc, Portu Turre) is a comune and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as ''Colonia Iulia Turris Libisonis'', it was the first Roman colony of the ...

.Santi Beati
/ref> Desquivel responded by organizing archaeological excavations in 1614 in the areas where popular cults had sprung up around early Christian martyrs, particularly the

Basilica of San Saturnino The Basilica of San Saturnino is a Palaeo-Christian church in Cagliari, southern Sardinia, Italy. History The church is mentioned for the first time in the early 6th century. This church had been likely erected near the burial place of St. Saturn ...

and at Sulci (

Isola di Sant'Antioco Sant'Antioco (; sc, Santu Antiogu) is the name of both an island and a municipality (''comune'') in southwestern Sardinia, in the Province of South Sardinia, in Sulcis zone. With a population of 11,730, the municipality of Sant'Antioco it is the ...

). At Cagliari he personally led excavations, which found a stone inscribed ''+ S....INUM...'', which was interpreted as 'sancti innumerabiles' or 'innumerable saints'. In the following years several human bones and skeletons were found and identified as those of saints Cesello, Camerino, Lussorio and finally Saturnino, patron saint of the city. To honour these relics Desquivel built a new crypt in Cagliari Cathedral, containing a Sanctuary of the Martyrs with three chapels dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Saturnino and Saint Lucifero, one of the city's first bishops and author of important works combatting heresy. This contained 617 rosettes and 167 different niches, each with the name of the saint whose relics it contained, all in hand-carved polychrome marble. These still survive. Despite his requests to return to Spain, Desquivel remained at Cagliari until his death in December 1624 after an eighteen-day illness. His body was buried in the Sanctuary of the Martyrs.

References

Bibliography

Francesco Cesare Casula Francesco Cesare Casula (born 12 September 1933) is a Sardinian historian from Italy. Biography Born in Livorno, Casula lived there until 1949 when, because of his father's death caused by an Allied bombardment of the city, his entire family ...

, ''ad vocem'', in ''Dizionario storico sardo''. Edizione riveduta e ampliata Cagliari, L'unione sarda, 2006, volume 5, pp. 1156–1157. * Giuseppe Manno, ''Storia di Sardegna'', Torino, Alliana e Paravia, 1825-1827. * Pietro Martini, ''Storia ecclesiastica di Sardegna'', Cagliari, Stamperia reale, 1839-1841. * Alberto Pala, ''I vescovi di Cagliari: 1605-1624 Francesco Desquivel'', "L'eco della primaziale", 2011, 31-35. * Pasquale Tola, ''ad vocem'', in ''Dizionario biografico degli uomini illustri di Sardegna'', Torino, Tipografia Chirio e Mina, 1837-1838, volume

pp. 68–70. * Raimondo Turtas, ''Storia della chiesa in Sardegna: dalle origini al Duemila'', Roma, Città nuova, 1999. {{DEFAULTSORT:Desquivel, Francisco 17th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Spain Bishops in Sardinia 1550 births 1624 deaths