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Francisco Javier de Lizana y Beaumont (1750 in
Arnedo Arnedo is the third largest town in La Rioja, Spain. It is located near Calahorra, and has a population of about 15,000 people. Its economy is based on the shoe industry. History The area of Arnedo has been inhabited as early as the Neolithic ...
,
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,
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– March 6, 1815 in
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
) was bishop of Mexico and, from July 19, 1809 to May 8, 1810, viceroy of
New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the A ...
.


Ecclesiastical career

Lizana did his religious studies at Calatayud and
Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Province of Zaragoza, Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Ara ...
, where in 1771 he received his doctorate in canon and civil law. In 1772 he was teaching at the University of
Alcalá de Henares Alcalá de Henares () is a Spanish city in the Community of Madrid. Straddling the Henares River, it is located to the northeast of the centre of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,751, making it the region's third-most populated municipality ...
. In 1795 he was designated bishop ''in partibus'' of Taumasia, and in 1801, bishop of
Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with ...
. In 1802 he was named archbishop of Mexico, where he arrived in January 1803. His ecclesiastical administration was characterized by works of social welfare, which he pursued with diligence and honor. He expanded and furnished the Hospital of San Lázaro and endowed the Hospicio de Pobres (poorhouse) and the Casa de Niños Expósitos (foundling home). In the
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he founded the chair of ecclesiastical discipline.


Political career

He was among those who asked Marshal
Pedro de Garibay Pedro de Garibay (1729, Alcalá de Henares, Spain – July 7, 1815, Mexico City) was a Spanish military officer and, from September 16, 1808 to July 19, 1809, viceroy of New Spain. Military career Born in Alcalá de Henares in 1729 (some sour ...
to assume the position of viceroy after the coup that deposed José de Iturrigaray. Garibay did so, but when the Junta de
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became aware of his advanced age and the fact that he was a puppet of the rich merchants and the Real Audiencia, they named Archbishop Lizana to replace him on an interim basis (February 1809). The archbishop was chosen because the Junta was aware that Catholics did not support Napoleon after the imprisonment of
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in 1809. Lizana named his cousin, Inquisitor Juan Sáenz de Alfaro, to handle his ecclesiastical duties so that Lizana himself could concentrate on his political duties. Sáenz de Alfaro was not a popular choice. He formed new units of provincial militia, and imported arms from Britain. He confiscated the property in New Spain of the Marqués de Branciforte and the Duque de Terranova, nobles in Spain who had declared for King Joseph I (
Joseph Bonaparte it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte , house = Bonaparte , father = Carlo Buonaparte , mother = Letizia Ramolino , birth_date = 7 January 1768 , birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic ...
). He obtained a loan of 3 million pesos in gold on the property. From this and other sources, Lizana was able to remit 9 million pesos to Spain. As a personal contribution to the war effort in Spain, he accepted no salary. Like Garibay, he encountered opposition from the pro-independence party. New Spain had been transformed by the events in the mother country. Anonymous political tracts and clandestine lampoons circulated. Political juntas were formed to seek independence. The Audiencia came in for much criticism for its coup against Iturrigaray. This was felt to be the final closure of the legal route for political change. The only way remaining was direct action. The viceroy was informed of these events, but took no action against them. For this reason the Spaniards in the Audiencia accused him of being a partisan of the
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. A pro-independence conspiracy was discovered in Vallodalid (
Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid) is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital and lar ...
,
Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...
). This was headed by Lieutenant José Mariano Michelena and Father Vicente de Santa María. They were arrested, and Lizana ordered them brought to Mexico City so that he could speak to them. The conspirators proposed to the viceroy (as related by Michelena) to form a junta to govern New Spain in the name of King Ferdinand VII and to take all possible measures to extend the reign of this "august" sovereign. Lizana found no criminal offense in the conspirators, and ordered them set free, to the great disgust of the pro-Spanish party.


After leaving the viceroyalty

Because of this and other failings, and also in consideration of his advanced age, the regency in Aranjuez removed the archbishop from the viceroyalty. They ordered the Real Audiencia to fill in until the arrival of the next viceroy,
Francisco Javier Venegas Francisco Javier Venegas de Saavedra y Ramínez de Arenzana, 1st Marquess of Reunión and New Spain, KOC (1754 in Zafra, Badajoz, Spain – 1838 in Zafra, Spain) was a Spanish general in the Spanish War of Independence and later viceroy of ...
. Lizana continued as archbishop. He was awarded the Cross of Carlos III. He died on March 6, 1815 in Mexico City.


References

* "Lizana y Beaumont, Francisco Javier," ''Enciclopedia de México'', v. 8. Mexico City: 1987. * García Puron, Manuel, ''México y sus gobernantes'', v. 1. Mexico City: Joaquín Porrua, 1984. * Orozco Linares, Fernando, ''Gobernantes de México''. Mexico City: Panorama Editorial, 1985, .


External links


Catholic Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lizana y Beaumont, Francisco Javier 1750 births 1811 deaths People from Arnedo Viceroys of New Spain 19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Mexico Roman Catholic archbishops of Mexico (city)