Miguel García Cuesta (6 October 1803 in Macotera – 18 April 1873 in

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...

) was a professor at the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca ( es, Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the city of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. It is t ...

Bishop of Jaca The Diocese of Jaca is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northeastern Spanish province of Huesca, part of the autonomous community of Aragón. The diocese is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical provin ...

(1848), Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela (1851), Senator for Life (1851) and Cardinal (1861).

Biography

In 1815, at the age of twelve, he left his native village with his uncle, who was the chaplain of the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Valdejimena in Horcajo Medianero. Three years later, he was enrolled at the

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 ...

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

, where he studied philosophy and theology and became a substitute professor of mathematics. He took his bachelor's degree from the University of Salamanca. In 1825, he received the four

minor orders Minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders —priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders—acolyte, exorcist, lec ...

and a subdeaconate. The following year, he was ordained a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

and was named a professor of philosophy at the University. In 1828, he became a

presbyter Presbyter () is an honorific title for Christian clergy. The word derives from the Greek ''presbyteros,'' which means elder or senior, although many in the Christian antiquity would understand ''presbyteros'' to refer to the bishop functioning a ...

and obtained his doctorate in

Holy Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...

. He was also a professor at the seminary and later became its

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

. In 1848, he was named Bishop of Jaca and, in 1851, was promoted to Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela. Queen

Isabella II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successi ...

made him a Senator for Life and awarded him the

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III ( es, Real y Distinguida Orden Española de Carlos III, originally es, Real y Muy Distinguida Orden de Carlos III) was establ ...

. At the request of Pope Pius IX, he participated in the preparatory acts and the declaration of the dogmatic definition for the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

, after which the Pope created him a Cardinal with the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary des ...

Santa Prisca Santa Prisca is a titular church of Rome, on the Aventine Hill, for Cardinal-priests. It is recorded as the ''Titulus Priscae'' in the acts of the 499 synod. Church It is devoted to Saint Prisca, a 1st-century martyr, whose relics are contai ...

. He was chosen as a deputy to the Cortes Constituyentes de 1869, where he defended the established Catholic Confessionalism of the Kingdom of Spain. This led to a dispute with the

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...

that prevented him from attending the First Vatican Council. Later, he was elected a senator from the Province of Vizcaya. A year before his death, he presided over the consecration of the central

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, fro ...

s at the Basílica del Pilar. He died at the Archbishop's Palace in Santiago de Compostela, and is interred in the Pantheon of Archbishops at the Metropolitan Cathedral.

Sources

Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
created by Pius IX @

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...

García Cuesta
@

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The website is not officially sanctioned by the Church. It is run as a private project by David M. Cheney in ...

Miguel García Cuesta
@ the Spanish Senate website.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia Cuesta, Miguel 1803 births 1873 deaths Academic staff of the University of Salamanca Bishops of Jaca Archbishops of Santiago de Compostela 19th-century Spanish cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Pius IX Cardinal protectors People from the Province of Salamanca

Biography

Sources

Further reading

External links