Justo de Santa María de Oro y Albarracín (3 March 1772–19 October 1836) was an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

statesman and bishop. He was an influential representative in the

Congress of Tucumán The Congress of Tucumán was the representative assembly, initially meeting in San Miguel de Tucumán, that declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America (modern-day Argentina, Uruguay, part of Bolivia) on July 9, 1816, fro ...

, which on 9 July 1816, declared the

Independence of Argentina What today is commonly referred as the Independence of Argentina was declared on July 9, 1816, by the Congress of Tucumán. In reality, the congressmen who were assembled in Tucumán declared the independence of the United Provinces of Sou ...

. Santa María de Oro was born in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

. His father was Juan Miguel de Oro Bustamante y Cossio, and his mother Elena de Albarracín y Ladrón de Guevara. He was educated at the Convent of Santo Domingo, then went to

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 eas ...

to enter the Convent of Santo Domingo of

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, whos ...

. He gained his doctorate at the Royal University of San Felipe, and by the age of 20 was already teaching theology. At 21 he was ordained by Bishop Sobrino y Minayo. In 1814 he crossed the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

with many Chilean patriots and met General

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (25 February 177817 August 1850), known simply as José de San Martín () or '' the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru'', was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and centr ...

; they became friends and collaborators. He helped to found and equip the

Army of the Andes The Army of the Andes ( es, Ejército de los Andes) was a military force created by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (Argentina) and mustered by general José de San Martín in his campaign to free Chile from the Spanish Empire. In 181 ...

. In 1815, Santa María de Oro was elected by San Juan to the

and served in 1816 for the declaration. He was firmly in favour of a republic and opposed those who wanted a

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

, also believing that the people should decide. Santa María de Oro returned to San Juan and then to Chile where he was appointed Provincial superior of his order. In 1828 he was appointed by the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Apostolic Vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...

in San Juan, part of the

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...

of Córdoba. In 1830 he became Bishop of Taumaco and in 1834 the first Bishop of the newly created Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan de Cuyo. Santa María de Oro was a second cousin to

Domingo Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (; born Domingo Faustino Fidel Valentín Sarmiento y Albarracín; 15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was an Argentine activist, intellectual, writer, statesman and the second President of Argentina. His writing s ...

, President of Argentina between 1868 and 1874.

External links

Memories of Friar Justo
by

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Maria de Oro, Justo de 1772 births 1836 deaths Members of the Congress of Tucumán People from San Juan Province, Argentina 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Argentina People of the Argentine War of Independence Roman Catholic bishops of San Juan de Cuyo