José Manuel Gallegos Rocafull (b.

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

, August 21, 1895 - d.

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, 1963) was a Spanish

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, canon of the Cathedral of Cordoba,

theologian 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 ...

and

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

. Gallegos studied at the General and Technical Institute of

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

and later at the

Theological Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

. Upon completion of basic academic training, he matriculated to the Seminary of

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 ...

to continue his religious training, attending the Pontifical University of Toledo where he graduated in theology in 1920. He later earned his doctorate in the Pontificia Universidad de Sevilla. As chaplain of the Adoration of Madrid, he received a BA in philosophy and literature from the Central University. In 1921 he was appointed canon of the

Cathedral of Granada Granada Cathedral, or the Cathedral of the Incarnation ( es, Catedral de Granada, Santa Iglesia Catedral Metropolitana de la Encarnación de Granada) is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Granada, capital of the province of the same name in ...

, where he promoted, together with the bishopric, a significant undertaking in construction projects and equipment housing. Residing in the House Conciliar de Madrid, he met the future cardinal, Vicente Enrique y Tarancon, a key figure in the Spanish transition to democracy. At the outbreak of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, he resided in Madrid, having recently completed his doctorate in philosophy under the direction of

José Ortega y Gasset José Ortega y Gasset (; 9 May 1883 – 18 October 1955) was a Spanish philosopher and essayist. He worked during the first half of the 20th century, while Spain oscillated between monarchy, republicanism, and dictatorship. His philosoph ...

. As a member of

Catholic Action Catholic Action is the name of groups of lay Catholics who advocate for increased Catholic influence on society. They were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic countries under anti-clerical regimes such as Spain, Ita ...

, he remained steadfastly loyal to the government of the Second Republic and quickly began a remarkable work of the legal defense against the rebels. He attended several conferences abroad, mainly in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in support of republican legality, although it was silence his voice through the Cardinal Primate of Spain, who requested and obtained from the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

to defend the express prohibition of the Republicans. In

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

he joined Editions Esprit, press organ of the French Catholic left. Highlighted in the three years of war battle that made the concept of Crusade and Holy War claimed that the insurgents to justify their actions in the Spanish war. He also criticized the killing of priests, but defended the innocence of the

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

and the Republican administration of those crimes, which he attributed always popular uncontrolled reactions during the first months of the war: When seeing the violence committed against persons or property devoted to worship, they persist in attributing the Popular Front Government Persecuted deliberate policy, seems to forget that in the Basque Country, where the enthusiasm to fight the rebels is incomparable However, priests and religious respect and enjoy the most absolute freedom, and worship continues with the diligence and devotion that are there to traditional ... Diario ABC, Madrid, edition of February 5, 1937 That same year (1937) he was suspended a divinis by Bishop Adolfo Pérez Muñoz. In 1938 he went into exile in Mexico, where they pitched their lives forever. Welcomed by the authorities, he was Professor of Philosophy of the National Autonomous University and the

Universidad Iberoamericana The Ibero-American University ( es, Universidad Iberoamericana), also referred to by its acronym ''UIA'' but commonly known as ''Ibero'' or ''La Ibero'') is a private, Catholic, Mexican higher education institution, sponsored by the Mexican provi ...

. Through the mediation of the Mexican church, the suspension was lifted a divinis, and at the same time as a teacher, was a leading chaplain of the Church of the Coronation until his death.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rocafull, Jose Manuel Gallegos Culture of Mexico Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War Catholic philosophers 1963 deaths 1895 births