Fray Miguel Acuña (1788-1847) was a
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
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 ...
and medical practitioner in
New Granada New Granada may refer to various former national denominations for the present-day country of Colombia.
*New Kingdom of Granada, from 1538 to 1717
*Viceroyalty of New Granada, from 1717 to 1810, re-established from 1816 to 1819
*United Provinces of ...
(present-day
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
). He was born in
Zapatoca
Zapatoca () is a town and municipality in the Santander Department in northeastern Colombia. It is at a high altitude and is a common stop between Bucaramanga and San Gil. It was built in the early 17th century by the Spain, Spanish conquistadores ...
in the province of
Socorro, and was received into the
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
order at the age of 21. He was famous in
Bogota for his knowledge of
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
and for his exemplary life. He spent the majority of his religious life in the convent of
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
de Bogotá, where he was visited by a regular stream of people from all walks of life, eager to seek relief from their ailments through his prescriptions.
He died in
Bogota in 1847.
See also
*
Catholic Church in Colombia
The Colombian Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Colombia, is the branch of the Roman Catholic Church in the South American nation of Colombia.
Organization
It is organized into 13 ecclesiastical provinces, subdivided into 13 archdiocese ...
References
1788 births
1847 deaths
19th-century Colombian Roman Catholic priests
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