José Rafael Campoy Gastélum (Latin: ) (15 August 1723 – 21 December 1777) was a Mexican

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, teacher, scholar, and

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

. After the expulsion of the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

from Spanish provinces (1767), he went to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, where he died ten years later.

Biography

José Rafael Campoy was born in

Álamos Álamos () is a town in Álamos Municipality in the States of Mexico, Mexican state of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico. Historically an important center of silver mining, the town's economy is now dominated by the tourist sector. Designated a ...

, New Navarre, now known as

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

. A son of Francisco Xavier Campoy and Andrea Gastélum, he was born into a wealthy and distinguished family. Some of José Rafael's siblings were: * José Gabriel Campoy * Pedro Joaquín Campoy, holder of a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

and commissioner of the

Holy Office The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace o ...

in Real de los Álamos * Raymundo Antonio Campoy, owner of the Mines of San Pedro and San Pablo and a man of great resources, who married Ana María Micaela González de Zayas * María Agueda Campoy After the novitiate and studies in

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

, he taught

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

and

Grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...

in San Luis Potosí City, where he said his funeral oration in the funeral honors of

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Philip V. He went on to study

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 ...

from 1748 to 1751 at the Colegio Máximo San Pedro y San Pablo in Mexico City, where he was ordained a priest in 1751. With the exception of a few months in the Professed House in Mexico City, Campoy resided in

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

, for about fifteen years. When the Jesuits were expelled (1767) by order of

Charles III of Spain Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735� ...

, he was teaching Philosophy and Theology at the college of the aforementioned Veracruz, from where he left on 26 July 1767 on the frigate ''La Flora''. After a long journey, he arrived in

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

and, finally, in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, where he spent the rest of his life, "occupied with studying and writing about the Geography of America, in which he was highly educated, and entrusting himself to God, caring nothing for created things." Campoy died in Bologna,

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

, on 21 December 1777.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campoy, José Rafael 1723 births 1777 deaths 18th-century Mexican people Mexican male writers Writers from Sonora Mexican Jesuits Jesuit exiles Mexican exiles 18th-century Mexican writers 18th-century male writers Jesuits expelled from the Americas