Alonso Juan de Arévalo Briceño y Arias de Córdoba, O.F.M. or Alonso de Brizeño (1587 – 16 November 1668) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Caracas (Santiago de Venezuela) (1653–1668) ''(in Latin)'' and

Bishop of Nicaragua A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

(1644–1653).Gauchat 1935, p. 258 He was a Scotist philosopher.

Biography

Alonso Juan de Arévalo Briceño y Arias de Córdoba was born in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

(now

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

) in 1587, the son of Captain Alonso de Arévalo Briceño y Mansilla, born in Guadalajara, and Jerónima Arias de la Peña y Córdoba, a Creole from Santiago."Alonso Arévalo Briceño y Arias de Córdoba", Real Academia de la Historia, 2018
/ref> When he was five years old, the family moved to

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

. After completing his studies, he entered the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; Post-nominal letters, postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a Mendicant orders, mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis ...

in Lima on January 30, 1605. He was professed the following year. He was ordained a priest and served as Guardian of the Convent of San Francisco in Lima. He was also named provincial visitor and later presided over the Chapter of the Franciscan province of Peru. Briceño wrote a number of manuscripts on the work of

Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus ( ; , "Duns the Scot"; – 8 November 1308) was a Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, university professor, philosopher and theologian. He is considered one of the four most important Christian philosopher-t ...

. In 1637 Briceño traveled to Madrid as

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * Procurator (Ancient Rome), the title of var ...

for the canonization of

Francis Solanus Francisco Solano y Jiménez (also known as Francis Solanus; 10 March 1549 – 14 July 1610) was a Spanish friar and missionary in South America, belonging to the Order of Friars Minor (the Franciscans), and is honored as a saint in the Roman Catho ...

. He continued on to Rome, where he was the representative of Peru in the General Chapter of 1639. Briceño remained three years in Rome, where he became a consultant to the Holy Office. Upon the recommendation of King Philip IV,

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

chose him as Bishop of Nicaragua and Costa Rica on 28 July 1644. On 12 November 1645, he was consecrated bishop in Panama by Hernando de Ramírez y Sánchez, Bishop of Panamá; and installed in December 1645. On 18 August 1653,

Pope Julius III Pope Julius III (; ; 10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1550 to his death, in March 1555. After a career as a disting ...

appointed Briceño Bishop of Caracas, Santiago de Venezuela. After some delay he arrived in

Maracaibo Maracaibo ( , ; ) is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the largest city in Venezuela and is List of cities in Venezuela by population ...

on December 27, 1660, and at Trujillo on June 14, 1661. When he arrived, he brought among his belongings a library of more than 1,000 large books, classified among the best that existed in the colonial period. For almost eight years, he managed the diocese from there, having no particular wish to travel to Caracas. As bishop, he was the

principal consecrator 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 Churches, ...

of Payo Afán Enríquez de Ribera Manrique de Lara,

Bishop of Santiago de Guatemala The Archdiocese of Santiago de Guatemala is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Guatemala.Bernardo de Izaguirre de los Reyes Bernardo de Izaguirre de los Reyes (died November 16, 1668) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of La Plata o Charcas (1669–1670), Bishop of Cuzco (1662–1669), and Bishop of Panamá (1654–1659). ''(in Latin)'' ''(in Lat ...

, Bishop of Panamá (1659). He died at Trujillo on 16 November 1668. The assets that he left after his death gave rise to numerous lawsuits for several years, between the Ecclesiastical Council, the Franciscan order and the relatives of the deceased.

References

External links and additional sources

* (for Chronology of Bishops) * (for Chronology of Bishops) * (for Chronology of Bishops) 17th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Nicaragua 17th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Venezuela Bishops appointed by Pope Paul III Bishops appointed by Pope Julius III 1597 births 1668 deaths Franciscan bishops Roman Catholic bishops of León in Nicaragua Roman Catholic bishops of Caracas {{Venezuela-RC-bishop-stub