Miguel Darío Miranda y Gómez (December 19, 1895 – March 15, 1986) was a Mexican

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He served as Archbishop of Mexico City from 1956 to 1977, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1969.

Biography

Miguel Miranda y Gómez was born in León, Guanajuato, to Cipriano Miranda and his wife, María de las Nieves Gómez. After studying at the

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

in León and the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood on October 28, 1918. Miranda then did

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

work in León until 1925, and began teaching at its seminary in 1929. From 1925 to 1926, he was the Director of the National Social Secretariat. Under the

religious persecution Religious persecution is the systematic oppression of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religion, religious beliefs or affiliations or their irreligion, lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within socie ...

s enacted by Mexican President

Plutarco Elías Calles Plutarco Elías Calles (born Francisco Plutarco Elías Campuzano; 25 September 1877 – 19 October 1945) was a Mexican politician and military officer who served as the 47th President of Mexico from 1924 to 1928. After the assassination of Ál ...

, Miranda was imprisoned and later forced to leave the country from 1926 to 1929. On October 1, 1937, Miranda was appointed Bishop of Tulancingo by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

. He received his episcopal consecration on the following December 8 from Archbishop Leopoldo Ruiz y Flóres, with Archbishop José Márquez Toriz and Bishop Maximino Ruiz y Flóres serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

, in the Shrine of Guadalupe. Miranda was advanced to Coadjutor Archbishop of

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

and

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Selymbria'' on December 20, 1955. On the death of Luis Martínez y Rodríguez on 28 June 1956, he became his successor as Archbishop of Mexico City. Miranda, who was a staunch advocate of

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

, attended the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

from 1962 to 1965 and served as President of the Latin American Episcopal Conference from 1958 to 1963.

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

created the Mexican primate Cardinal Priest of '' Nostra Signora di Guadalupe a Monte Mario'' in the consistory of April 28, 1969. However, Miranda never had the opportunity of participating in a

papal conclave A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around ...

, as he reached the age of 80 (the age limit for cardinal electors) on December 19, 1975. Before resigning as

's archbishop on July 19, 1977, he was the

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

to the dedication of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe on October 12, 1976. The Cardinal died in his native León at 90. He is buried in the

Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven (), also commonly called the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, is the cathedral church of the Catholic Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico, Archdiocese o ...

Trivia

*Miranda greeted

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

of France at the Guadalupe Basilica for a

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

during a visit to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in 1942. *He received an honorary doctorate in laws from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

. *Miranda also supported Opus Dei.Opus Dei: Opiniones de protagonistas
UNA AMISTAD QUE NOS UNIÓ PARA SIEMPRE
June 16, 1979

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miranda Y Gomez, Miguel Dario 1895 births 1986 deaths People from León, Guanajuato 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Mexico Mexican cardinals Roman Catholic archbishops of Tulancingo Participants in the Second Vatican Council Cardinals created by Pope Paul VI Roman Catholic archbishops of Mexico (city) Bishops appointed by Pope Pius XI