José Antonio Laureano de Zubiría
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José Antonio Laureano de Zubiría y Escalante (4 July 1791 - 28 November 1863) was Bishop of Durango in Mexico from 28 August 1831 until his death. He was a supporter of the
Centralist Republic of Mexico The Centralist Republic of Mexico ( es, República Centralista de México), or in the anglophone scholarship, the Central Republic, officially the Mexican Republic ( es, República Mexicana), was a unitary political regime established in Mexico ...
, and was strongly opposed to the United States, which took control of the northern part of his diocese in 1846, due to its tolerance of faiths other than Catholicism.


Early life and views

José Antonio Laureano de Zubiría y Escalante was born on 4 July 1791. He was ordained around 1817. Zubiría taught at the seminary of Durango, and many of his pupils went on to become secular priests in New Mexico, including padre Antonio José Martinez of Taos, Manuel Gallegos of
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
and vicar Juan Felipe Ortiz of Santa Fe. Secular priests differ from ordained priests in that they do not belong to religious orders. On 19 October 1830 he was appointed Titular Bishop of Daulia. He was appointed Bishop of Durango on 28 February 1831, ordained on 28 Aug 1831 and installed on 2 October 1831. Bishop Zubiría was well known for his hostility to the United States (no wonder: the US had stolen about half of Mexico's territory). He may have passed on some of his views to
Ramón Ortiz y Miera Ramón Ortiz y Miera (commonly Padre Ramón Ortiz) (28 January 1814 – 11 March 1896) was a Mexican priest who helped organize armed resistance during the Mexican–American War of 1846 to 1848, and who was frustrated by the U.S. authorities in hi ...
, who came to study under him in Durango in 1832, and later was repatriate commissioner after the Mexican-American War. Bishop Zuberia opposed the growing influence of the invading United States in the north of his diocese.


First visit to New Mexico

Bishop Zubiria first visited
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
, an area that is now the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe, in the summer of 1833, travelling with a chaplain, a secretary and a guard. He was the first bishop to have visited the region for seventy two years. His visit to all parts of the territory was made with great ceremony, with the bishop dressed in his full regalia. A (Protestant) observer said of his visit to Santa Fe, When he visited San Miguel del Vado during this trip he found that the church was in very poor physical condition, and the finances were totally confused. His secretary noted that "With much grief and sorrow, he has observed that this parish church lacks even the most essential things for the celebration of the divine mysteries." In Taos he said of the local images and saints that "they are so deformed that they are not suitable for heavenly adoration." In Santa Cruz de la Cañada he spoke out strongly against the ''Penitente'' brotherhood for their excesses, and said they were illegal. He urged the priests to make greater efforts to baptize
Pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
children, and to bring the Pueblos into the church. He found that the Pueblo Indians had made their own version of the Catholic faith in which Jesus Christ was just one god among several, and the purpose of the Christmas and Holy week ceremonies was in part to ensure good harvests. The Bishop concluded that only the children of the Pueblos would reach salvation.


Support of centralism

Bishop Zubiria was a supporter of centralism in the Mexican Republic, and in 1833 for a period was forced to go into hiding from opponents of this movement. In September 1834 he wrote to Colonel
Blas de Hinojos Blas de Hinojos was a military commander of New Mexico who was killed by a force of Navajo warriors led by Narbona in 1835. Capitan Blas de Hinojos married Maria de Jesus Trujillo. His men were poorly paid. In 1834 he received a complaint from the ...
, the military commander of New Mexico, praising him for his decision to support the centralist
Plan of Cuernavaca The Plan of Cuernavaca (Spanish: ''Plan de Cuernavaca'') was a declaration made in Cuernavaca, Mexico on 25 May 1834 in opposition to reform measures by the liberal administration of Vice President Valentín Gómez Farías. Presumably the declaratio ...
. When there was a rebellion against governor
Albino Pérez Albino Pérez (died 8 August 1837) was a Mexican soldier and politician who was appointed Governor of New Mexico by the Centralist Republic of Mexico. He pursued unpopular policies, suffered a revolt in July 1837, and in August 1837 was killed by r ...
of New Mexico in 1837, he instructed all the priests to make every effort to support the established order.


Later visits to New Mexico

Bishop Zubiría visited New Mexico again in 1845. On 23 July 1850 Pope Pius IX appointed Jean-Baptiste Lamy vicar apostolic for Santa Fe. The idea of establishing a New Mexico vicarate had been proposed as early as 1630 by Fray Alonso Benavides, due to the distance of from Durango. Lamy entered Santa Fe on 9 August 1851, and was welcomed by the Governor of the territory, James S. Calhoun, and many other citizens. However, Juan Felipe Ortiz, who was responsible for administration of the New Mexico church, told Lamy that he and the local clergy remained loyal to Bishop Zubiría, who had visited Santa Fe a few months earlier. Lamy wrote to Bishop Zubiría asking him to explain the change of responsibility to the New Mexico priests, and when his request was unanswered weNovember 13, 1851nt in person to Durango to meet with Bishop Zubiría, showing him the papal document of his appointment. In light of this, Zubiría had to agree to inform the priests of the change. Bishop Zubiría visited New Mexico again in 1851. . He remained Bishop of Durango until his death on 28 November 1863.


References

;Citations ;Sources * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zubiria, Jose Antonio Laureano de 1791 births 1863 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Mexico People from Durango City