Ciriaco María Sancha y Hervás (17 June 1833 – 25 February 1909) was a

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

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

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 ...

who served as the

Archbishop of Toledo The Archdiocese of Toledo () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Spain.

in addition to being the

Primate of Spain The Primacy of the Spains (; , ) is the primacy of the Iberian Peninsula, historically known as Hispania or in the plural as the Spains. The Archbishop of Braga, in Portugal, has claimed this primacy over the whole Iberian Peninsula since the ...

and the

Patriarch of the West Indies The Patriarchate of the West Indies (, ) is a patriarchate of the Catholic Church with titular jurisdiction over the Latin Church in Spanish America. It was established in 1524 and held by the Military Vicar of Spain from the creation of that off ...

. He established what is now known as Sisters of Charity of Cardinal Sancha in 1869. He was beatified on 18 October 2009 during the pontificate of

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

; Archbishop

Angelo Amato Angelo Amato, Salesians of Don Bosco, S.D.B. (8 June 1938 – 31 December 2024) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 20 ...

celebrated the rite of beatification on behalf of the pontiff. The second miracle required for his canonization is now under investigation.

Life

Ciriaco María Sancha y Hervás was born to Ambrosio Sancha and Baltasara Hervás in Quintana del Pidio in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. He was educated at the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca () is a public university, public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of León, King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the ...

where he earned a licentiate in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

. 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 27 June 1858. He served as the Lector of

philosophical studies ''Philosophical Studies'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal for philosophy in the analytic tradition. The journal is devoted to the publication of papers in exclusively analytic philosophy and welcomes papers applying formal techniques to phil ...

in 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 ...

Osma Burgo de Osma-Ciudad de Osma is the third-largest municipality in the province of Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It has a population of about 5,250. It is made up of two parts: *the smaller Ciudad de Osma (city ...

. He then served in the archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba from 1862 until 1876 as

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

-secretary and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

moral theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics" A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply satisfyin ...

in its

. He founded the Sisters of Charity on 5 August 1869. While the archdiocese was vacant because of the death of the archbishop in 1868, the Spanish Republican government named, without the consent of the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

, Father Pedro Llorente Miguel as his successor in 1873. Monsignor José María Orberá Carrión, who was

vicar capitular A diocesan administrator (also known as archdiocesan administrator, archiepiscopal administrator and eparchial administrator for the case, respectively, of an archdiocese, archeparchy, and eparchy) is a provisional ordinary of a Catholic part ...

, and Sancha opposed the nomination and were jailed for their opposition. The schism ended in 1874 and both were then released.

Episcopate

He was appointed

titular bishop 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 ''Areopolis'' and

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

on 28 January 1876. He was transferred to the see of Ávila on 27 March 1882 and again to the see of Madrid on 10 June 1886. He was promoted to the

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ...

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

on 11 July 1892.

Cardinalate

He was created Cardinal-Priest of

San Pietro in Montorio San Pietro in Montorio (English: "Saint Peter on the Golden Mountain") is a church in Rome, Italy, which includes in its courtyard the ''Tempietto'', a small commemorative ''martyrium'' ('martyry') built by Donato Bramante. History The Church o ...

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

in the consistory of 18 May 1894. He was again transferred to the primatial and metropolitan see of

on 24 March 1898 and on the same day was awarded the largely honorific title of Patriarch of the West Indies (which made him the titular head of all Spanish military bishops and chaplains). He participated in the

conclave of 1903 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 po ...

that elected

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

Death

Sancha died in the beginning of 1909.

Sainthood

Process and Venerable

The beatification process for Sancha commenced on 19 June 1982 under

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in which he was accorded with the title of

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

. The diocesan process commenced on 22 November 1982 and concluded following the successful accumulation of available evidence. The process was declared completed with the decree of validation from

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, ...

on 3 July 1992. The postulation sent the

Positio A ''positio'' (short for the Latin ''positio super virtutibus'': "position on the virtues") is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a Catholic person is declared Venerable, the second of four steps on the path to can ...

dossier to the officials in Rome for further investigation in 1993 while historians declared the cause clear of historical obstacles on 15 March 1994. Around a decade later - on 1 March 2005 - theologians approved the cause while the cardinal and bishop members of the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...

also approved it on 21 June 2005. During an audience granted on 28 April 2006 to the Cardinal-Prefect of the C.C.S. - then

José Saraiva Martins José Saraiva Martins, C.M.F. GCC (born 6 January 1932) is a Portuguese cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints from 1998 to 2008. Biography Born in Gagos de Jarmelo in Guarda, Portug ...

authorized the promulgation of the decree declaring the

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is the translation of a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs. The phrase is used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman a ...

of the late cardinal. This conferred upon him the title of

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

Beatification

The miracle needed for beatification was investigated in

Santiago de los Caballeros Santiago de los Caballeros ("James, son of Zebedee, Saint James of the Knights"), often shortened to Santiago, is the second-largest city in the Dominican Republic and the fourth-largest city in the Caribbean by population. It is the capital of ...

from 10 December 1985 until 18 December 1985 in which all medical documents and interrogatories were compiled and sent to Rome. The decree of validation for that process was issued on 13 December 1996. The medical board based in Rome approved the miracle around a decade later on 18 October 2007 while theologians did likewise on 16 May 2008. The C.C.S. followed suit on 16 December 2008. On 17 January 2009 - in an audience granted to Archbishop

approved the decree that certified a miracle attributed to the intercession of Cardinal Sancha. The beatification celebration took place on 18 October 2009 at the metropolitan cathedral of Toledo with Amato presiding on the behalf of the pontiff.

Second miracle

The second miracle required for full sanctification was placed under investigation in Santo Domingo from 20 February 2015 until 3 March 2015.

References

External links

Hagiography Circle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sancha y Hervas, Ciraco 1833 births 1909 deaths 20th-century Spanish cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Leo XIII 19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Spain 19th-century venerated Christians 19th-century Spanish cardinals 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Spain 20th-century venerated Christians Archbishops of Toledo Archbishops of Valencia Beatifications by Pope Benedict XVI Founders of Catholic religious communities Spanish beatified people University of Salamanca alumni Venerated Catholics by Pope Benedict XVI Bishops of Madrid