José Ignacio Cienfuegos

Fr. José Ignacio Cienfuegos Arteaga (October 1, 1762 – November 8, 1847) was a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an priest,

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

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 ...

of Concepción and

political figure A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He served twice as

President of the Senate of Chile The president of the Senate of Chile is the presiding officer of the Senate of Chile. The position comes after the Ministers of State in the line of succession of the President of Chile in case of temporary incapacitation or vacancy, according to ...

. Cienfuegos was born in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

, the son of Francisco Cienfuegos and of Josefa Arteaga Martínez. He studied

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at the Universidad Real de San Felipe and was later ordained as a priest in 1778. Cienfuegos became a Dominican friar and in 1790 was named priest of

Talca Talca () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, Chile, Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the ...

, where he worked for 23 years. As such, he actively participated in the independence movement in Chile. On October 9, 1813, he became a member of the Government Junta. During his term the junta adopted the national flag, founded the National institute of science and numerous primary schools throughout the country. In March 1814, Cienfuegos was elected titular member of the Consultive Senate of Chile. In 1814, after the

battle of Rancagua The Battle of Rancagua, also known in Chile as the Disaster of Rancagua, occurred on October 1, 1814, to October 2, 1814, when the Spanish Army under the command of Mariano Osorio defeated the rebel Chilean forces led by Bernardo O’Higgins. ...

, General

Mariano Osorio Mariano de Osorio (; 1777–1819) was a Spanish general and Governor of Chile, from 1814 to 1815. Early career Osorio was born in Seville, Spain. He joined the Spanish army and as many of his contemporaries, his military career began during the ...

deported him to the

Juan Fernández Islands The Juan Fernández Islands ( es, Archipiélago Juan Fernández) are a sparsely inhabited series of islands in the South Pacific Ocean reliant on tourism and fishing. Situated off the coast of Chile, they are composed of three main volcanic i ...

, where he remained for two years. He was allowed to return after the

battle of Chacabuco The Battle of Chacabuco, fought during the Chilean War of Independence, occurred on February 12, 1817. The Army of the Andes of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, led by Captain–General José de San Martín, defeated a Spanish for ...

in 1817. He was named administrator of the Santiago Cathedral in 1818 and participated in the formulation of the 1818 constitution. He was a member and President of the Conservative Senate of Chile between 1818 and 1820. In 1821, Cienfuegos was sent to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

as ambassador to try to negotiate the recognition of the Chilean independence. He returned to Chile in 1824 and became the Apostolic Administrator of the Santiago diocese while at the same time being one of the principal promoters of the Federalist attempt in Chile. In 1825 he became the President of the Provincial Assembly of Santiago and in 1826 participated in the constitutional congress as a deputy for Talca. Cienfuegos was returned as ambassador to the Holy See, where he was named titular Titular bishop of Retimo on December 15, 1828. He was elected Senator for Concepción on 1831, and again became President of the Conservative Senate of Chile between 1831 and 1834. On December 17, 1832, was named Bishop of Concepción. On 1839 he resigned his bishopric and retired to the city of

, where he continue to work as a priest until his death on November 8, 1847, at the age of 85. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cienfuegos, Jose Ignacio 1762 births 1847 deaths People from Santiago Chilean people of Asturian descent Chilean people of Basque descent Roman Catholic bishops of Concepción Presidents of the Senate of Chile Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile Senators of the III Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Chile