Ricardo Casanova y Estrada
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Ricardo Casanova y Estrada "The Great" (10 November 1844 – Cantel, Quetzaltenango, 14 April 1913) was a Guatemalan Catholic priest that became the eleventh
Archbishop of Guatemala The Archdiocese of Santiago de Guatemala is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Guatemala.Manuel Lisandro Barillas Bercián Manuel Lisandro Barillas Bercián (17 January 1845 – 7 April 1907) was a Guatemalan general and acting president of Guatemala from 6 April 1885 to 15 March 1886 and President from 16 March 1886 to 15 March 1892. He was born in Quetzaltenango, ...
(1885-1896), who eventually expelled Casanova y Estrada from Guatemala. After a generous amnesty granted by president general
José María Reina Barrios José María Reyna Barrios (24 December 1854 – 8 February 1898) was President of Guatemala from 15 March 1892 until his death on 8 February 1898. He was born in San Marcos, Guatemala and was nicknamed ''Reynita'', the diminutive form, bec ...
on 13 March 1897, the archbishop returned to Guatemala and was received by large crowds and joy.


Biography

Casanova y Estrada was well educated, receiving private lessons with well-known Guatemalan writer and politician
José Milla y Vidaurre José Milla y Vidaurre (August 4, 1822 in Guatemala City, First Mexican Empire — Guatemala City, Guatemala September 30, 1882) was a notable Guatemalan writer of the 19th century. He was also known by the name Pepe Milla and the pseudonym Salomé ...
during the 1860s;
Ramón Rosa Ramón Rosa Soto (14 July 1848 – 28 May 1893) was a prominent lawyer, journalist, politician and liberal writer of the second half of the nineteenth century. He was the ideologue of educational changes of Liberal Reform in Guatemala and then ...
- a Honduran liberal politician and ideologist — was his classmate in those lectures with Milla and described Casanova y Estrada as one of the most distinguished young men of both Guatemala and its neighboring republics, as well as the most educated priest in Central America. Casanova y Estrada later studied in the Pontifica Universidad de San Carlos Borromeo where he studied again with Milla y Vidaurre and also with former Colombian president Mariano Espina, who was exiled in
Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
. Among his classmates there were
Marco Aurelio Soto Marco Aurelio Soto (13 November 1846 – 25 February 1908) was President of Honduras from 27 August 1876 until 19 October 1883. He was known as a liberal. He was a reforming President and had a great impact on the Honduras of his time, including ...
, Ramón Rosa,Both Soto and Rosa would become the Public Instruction and Foreign Affairs secretaries of president Justo Rufino Barrios and eventually became president and prime minister of Honduras, respectively. and Antonio Batres Jáuregui. Casanova y Estrada was appointed Archbishop of Guatemala in 1886 and had a series of confrontations with president general
Manuel Lisandro Barillas Bercián Manuel Lisandro Barillas Bercián (17 January 1845 – 7 April 1907) was a Guatemalan general and acting president of Guatemala from 6 April 1885 to 15 March 1886 and President from 16 March 1886 to 15 March 1892. He was born in Quetzaltenango, ...
, who ended up expelling him from Guatemala.


Return from exile

While bishop Casanova y Estrada was exiled in
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, he expressed a very high regard about the
Exposición Centroamericana The Exposición Centroamericana (Central American Expo) was an industrial and cultural exposition that took place in Guatemala in 1897 and which was approved on 8 March 1894 by the National Assembly by Decree 253 by a suggestion made by presid ...
which general
José María Reina Barrios José María Reyna Barrios (24 December 1854 – 8 February 1898) was President of Guatemala from 15 March 1892 until his death on 8 February 1898. He was born in San Marcos, Guatemala and was nicknamed ''Reynita'', the diminutive form, bec ...
, was organizing at the time. In a pastoral message sent from
San José San José or San Jose (Spanish for Saint Joseph) most often refers to: *San Jose, California, United States *San José, Costa Rica, the nation's capital San José or San Jose may also refer to: Places Argentina * San José, Buenos Aires ** San ...
, on 29 June 1896 Casanova y Estrada pointed out that the Expo would allow the government to reach to great goals: that Central American get to know among themselves much better and that the area products would be showcased to the rest of the world. After almost 10 years in exile, and coinciding with the 75th Central America Independence anniversary, Casanova y Estrada. Upon learnings about this, president Reina Barrios -who happened to be a high ranked Mason — realized the bishop's patriotism and presented an initiative to the National Assembly on its inaugural session of 1 March 1897 to allow his return to Guatemalan soil. On 13 March, Decree 351, allowing archbishop Casanova y Estrada to return to Guatemala, was approved. The archbishop returned to Guatemala on 19 March 1897, along with Juan Paz. Upon arrival at
Puerto San José Puerto San José is a town on Guatemala's Pacific Ocean coast, in the department of Escuintla. It has a population of 23,887 (2018 census),
in the ship "Newport", a large multitude was waiting for him and listened to a mass that was celebrated in his honor. Then, he boarded a train that took him to Guatemala City where an even larger crowd was waiting for him at the Central Station, and then accompanied him to his quarters at the Metropolitan Cathedral; there were people on top of roof and every single window across the way, who saluted Casanova y Estrada. Afterwards, a majestic Te Deum took place in the cathedral, which was completely crowded with representatives of Guatemalan society. Even the agnostic writers of ''
La Ilustración Guatemalteca ''La Ilustración Guatemalteca'' (''Guatemalan Illustration'') was a biweekly cultural magazine that was published in Guatemala from 1 July 1896 to 15 June 1898. At a time when only 5% of the Guatemalan population could read, this magazine had ex ...
'', such as A. Macías del Real, congratulated the archbishop and could not deny the large support that the Catholic Church had in Guatemala at the time.


Pneumonia attack in 1899

Trying to get up to date with his diocese affairs after returning from exile, Casanova y Estrada on 8 March 1899 decided to visit San Juan Sacatepéquez, Quiché and Sololá. After Holy Week celebrations on 3 April 1899, he suffered a sudden pneumonia attack; he fell severely ill and by 27 April his life was endangered. However, he was able to recover, and by 1 September he went back on his diocesan duties.


Death

During a visit to Quetzaltenango, Casanova y Estrada fell seriously ill in
Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan is a municipality in the Sololá department of Guatemala. It is located at about in altitude in the steep mountains of the Sierra Madre range, descending from the western highlands to the southern coastal plain. The indi ...
parish and decided right there and then to return to Guatemala City immediately; he took the road of San Felipe, arriving at Cantel on 12 April 1913. There, he received medical attention, but around 11:00 pm on 13 April doctors realized there was no hope for him and he was given last rites. He died at 2:00 am on 14 April 1913. After a few days while Casanova y Estrada's remains were transported back to Guatemala City and there were several ceremonies in his honor, he was buried in the Metropolitan Cathedral crypt, exactly below the Immaculate Conception altar, as he had wished. His tombstone simply reads: "Ricardo Casanova y Estrada, XI archbishop of Guatemala, 14 April 1913. Pray for him."


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External links


Ficha personal
en Catholic hierarchy {{DEFAULTSORT:Casanova y Estrada, Ricardo 1844 births 1913 deaths Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala alumni Guatemalan Roman Catholic bishops Roman Catholic archbishops of Guatemala (1743-2013)