Juan de Arechederra, O. P. ( Caracas,

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, September 20, 1681 – Nueva Segovia, November 12, 1751) was a Venezuelan (originally

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

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)

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...

and member of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...

who served as the

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 ...

of the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Migue ...

from 1735 to 1737 and from 1743 to 1745 and Bishop-elect of Nueva Segovia from 1745 and in turn, the Bishop from 1750 until his death in 1751. In Philippine history, he is best remembered as being the Governor-General from 1745 to 1750 who baptized

Alimuddin I Muhammad Azim ud-Din I ( ar , مُحَمَّدعلیم الدین, Jawi:محمدعلیم الدیند also Muhammad Alimuddin; Christian Name: Don Fernando de Alimuddin) was Sultan of Sulu from 1735 to 1748, and again from 1764 until h ...

, the only Catholic

Sultan of Sulu The Sultanate of Sulu ( Tausūg: ''Kasultanan sin Sūg'', كاسولتانن سين سوڬ; Malay: ''Kesultanan Sulu''; fil, Sultanato ng Sulu; Chavacano: ''Sultanato de Sulu/Joló''; ar, سلطنة سولك) was a Muslim state that ruled ...

Early life and activities

Little was known about Arechederra's early life. He was born to Spanish immigrant parents but was later sent to a convent in San Jacinto de Caracas, a city-colony at the Spanish colonial provinces of New Kingdom of Granada. In 1701, he joined the

for the province of Santa Cruz, his hometown. He went to

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to pursue a degree of doctor of theology at the

Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico The Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico (in es, Real y Pontificia Universidad de México) was founded on 21 September 1551 by Royal Decree signed by Charles I of Spain, in Valladolid, Spain. It is generally considered the first university ...

, afterwards a master's degree on theology. By 1713, he joined a Dominican missionary to the Philippines. In the Philippines he held several posts such as being the

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of a parish in

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...

, a professor of theology at the

Colegio de San Juan de Letran The Colegio de San Juan de Letran, (transl: College of San Juan de Letran) also referred to by its acronym CSJL, is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution owned and run by the friars of the Order of Preachers i ...

and twice served as the Rector Magnificus of the University of Santo Tomas.

Inquisition and governor-general

When Arechederra came to the Philippines, one of his initial position was to become one of the four superintendent-commissaries appointed by the

Holy Office of the Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

to assist the Inquisition in the islands. During his time, Filipino natives or ''Indios'' were exempted from the Inquisition. For example, when a Spanish mestizo named Jacinta de Jesús was to be charged, Arechederra acquitted her by proposing herself as an ''Indio''. In 1724, he accelerated the Inquisition charges filed against Antoine Guigue, a French missionary based in

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

convicted of

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. He was later sentenced to be suspended from priestly actions and perform spiritual exercises until he appeased 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 ...

. In 1745, the Bishop of Nueva Segovia Manuel del Río died from office and Arechederra was elected to occupy this position. By July 1745, he assumed the diocese in full capacity while waiting for the Papal Bull proclaiming him as the new bishop. However, Governor-General Gaspar de la Torre died in office on September 21. By virtue of a royal decree issued earlier on August 15, 1734, in case of death of the governor-general, the highest governing person in the Islands shall take the responsibility of running the government. The same day, he assumed the position of being the governor-general and president ad interim of the

Real Audiencia A ''Real Audiencia'' (), or simply an ''Audiencia'' ( ca, Reial Audiència, Audiència Reial, or Audiència), was an appellate court in Spain and its empire. The name of the institution literally translates as Royal Audience. The additional des ...

.Barquilla 1990, p.624 Having heard of his acceptance as the bishop-elect of Nueva Segovia and his inauguration as the new governor-general, a letter coming from Madrid presented Arechederra to the King of Spain in 1750. In return the King ordered bulls recognizing Arechederra as the new Bishop of Nueva Segovia and affirming his position as the governor-general. However, on November 12, 1751, he died at office without having reached the bulls consecrated. During his short reign as the governor-general, he alternatively ruled in his diocese in Nueva Segovia and the government in Manila.

Baptismal of Alimuddin I

On January 2, 1749, Arechederra welcomed the

Azim ud-Din (alternatively spelled as ''Alimuddin'') who sought refuge to the Spanish colonial authorities. Alimuddin I was previously ousted from his position as the sultan in a coup staged by his younger brother, Bantilan who seized the throne. Instead of publicizing his own intention of his refuge, which is to seek help in restoring him to power, Alimuddin I asked Arechederra to baptize him and embrace Christianity. After the examination of two Jesuit priests, he was recommended to be baptized. On April 29, 1750, baptisms took place at

Paniqui, Tarlac Paniqui, officially the Municipality of Paniqui ( ilo, Ili ti Paniqui; pag, Baley na Paniqui; tgl, Bayan ng Paniqui), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 103,0 ...

. He was renamed as Don Fernando de Alimuddin. His children were educated in Spanish and Catholic education. Before fully pushing his ideals to restore him to power, Arechederra was replaced as a governor-general by the Marquis of Brindisi.Barquilla 1990, p.625National Historical Commission
Muhammad Alimuddin
/ref>

References

External links

UST Rectors throughout the centuries
* Baquillas, José Barrado
Actas del II Congreso Internacional sobre los Dominicos y el Nuevo Mundo, Salamanca, 28 de marzo-1 de abril de 1989. Volume 6 of Los Dominicos y América
1990. * Blair, Emma H. and Alexander Robertson

1905. Reproduced by Gutenberg in 2008. * Fernandez, Doreen
Palabas: essays on Philippine theater history
1996. * Irving, D. R. M
Colonial counterpoint: music in early modern Manila
2010. * Lea, Henry Charles
The Inquisition in the Spanish Dependencies: Sicily, Naples, Sardinia, Milan, the Canaries, Mexico, Peru, New Granada
2010. * Storch, Tanya
Religions and missionaries around the Pacific, 1500-1900
2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:de Arechederra, Juan 1681 births 1751 deaths People from Caracas 18th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Philippines Venezuelan people of Spanish descent Captains General of the Philippines Rector Magnificus of the University of Santo Tomas Roman Catholic bishops of Nueva Segovia