José Santiago Rodríguez Zorrilla (30 December 1752 – 5 April 1832) was the 21st bishop of Santiago,

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 ...

,Counting Diego de Zambrana de Villalobos, who does not appear on th
official list
of bishops in the

Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral () is the seat of the Archdiocese of Santiago de Chile and the main temple of the Catholic Church in that country. As a Cathedral Church, it is the permanent seat of the Archbishop of Santiago and is dedicated to ...

known for his fervent support of the Spanish government during the

Chilean War of Independence The Chilean War of Independence (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Guerra de la Independencia de Chile'', 'War of Independence of Chile') was a military and political event that allowed the emancipation of Chile from the Spanish Empire, Spanish Mona ...

Biography

Early years and education

The son of Manuel Rodríguez Zorrilla and María del Carmen Idoate y Pozo, he studied at the Royal Seminary of San Francisco Javier, and later at the

Royal University of San Felipe The Royal University of San Felipe () was a university created by Philip V of Spain, King Philip V in 1738, in territory which was then part of the Kingdom of Spain. It was officially founded in Santiago in 1747 and began teaching activities in ...

, where he obtained his

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 ...

(1771) and doctorate in theology (1775). While in

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 ...

, he studied law at the

National University of San Marcos The National University of San Marcos (, UNMSM) is a public university, public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. In the Americas, it is the first officially established (Privilege (legal ethics), privilege by Charles V, ...

. Ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in 1775, he divided his time between ecclesiastical activities and teaching. He served as rector of the Royal University of San Felipe for three terms: 1788, 1789, and 1803. He was also

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of the

(1787),

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of Renca (1792–1796), and secretary of bishops Alday, , and Marán. After the death of the latter he was appointed

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 ...

, a position he reoccupied after the death of bishop-elect Martínez de Aldunate in 1811.

Friction with the patriots

In 1811 the Regency Council petitioned

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

to fill the vacancy in the Santiago diocese. Pius VII agreed in 1815, and Rodriguez Zorrilla assumed the position of bishop the following year. Taking a hardline stance, Rodriguez Zorrilla faced several problems with the revolutionary authorities of Chile. In 1812, he refused to swear allegiance to the , and in response he was declared guilty of treason against the state and relegated to Colina. Though assuming the ecclesiastical authority of the diocese of Santiago in 1816, he had only four years of actual governance of it (out of the 17 of his official term), since when not confined somewhere within Chile, he was exiled from the country. After the

Battle of Rancagua The Battle of Rancagua, also known in Chile as the Disaster of Rancagua, occurred on October 1, 1814, to October 2, 1814, when the Spanish Army under the command of Mariano Osorio defeated the Chilean forces led by Bernardo O’Higgins. This ...

he presided over the trials of several priests for disloyalty, attributing to them active participation in the closing of the National Institute. He continued openly expressing a defiant position against the government of

Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; 20 August 1778 – 24 October 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque people, Basque-Spanish people, Spani ...

, which deported him to

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in 1817.

Return, confinement, and new exile

In 1822, Rodríguez was able to return to the country, provided that he delegate his administrative functions to a priest who had the full confidence of the government. In the meantime he lived in

Melipilla Melipilla (Mapudungun for "four Pillans") is a Chilean Communes of Chile, commune and Capital (political), capital List of cities in Chile, city of the Melipilla Province, province of the same name. It is part of the Santiago Metropolitan Region ...

. That same year he was reinstated in his post, which he held until 1825 when he was again expelled from the country. This time, the reason was directly related to the controversial visit of the

Apostolic legate An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is a ...

of the Vatican, Giovanni Muzi, whom the press accused of visiting the country as a spy of the

Holy Alliance The Holy Alliance (; ), also called the Grand Alliance, was a coalition linking the absolute monarchist great powers of Austria, Prussia, and Russia, which was created after the final defeat of Napoleon at the behest of Emperor Alexander I of Rus ...

. This suspicion was brought about by the recent opposition of the papacy to the independence of the countries of Latin America, as had been highlighted in the encyclical ', which called for "uprooting and completely destroying the baleful weeds of riot and insurrection that the enemy sowed in those countries" of "America, subject of the Catholic King of Spain". Amid the ensuing controversy between Rodríguez Zorrilla, the independent canon

José Ignacio Cienfuegos Fr. José Ignacio Cienfuegos Arteaga (1 October 1762 – 8 November 1847) was a Chilean priest, Roman Catholic bishop of Concepción, Chile, Concepción and political figure. He served twice as President of the Senate of Chile. Biography Cienf ...

, and the government, the bishop was shipped to

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

, which he left (via

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 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and

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) for

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. José Santiago Rodríguez Zorrilla died in Madrid in 1832. His remains were repatriated and buried in the

in December 1852.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodríguez Zorrilla, José Santiago 1752 births 1832 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Santiago de Chile Clergy from Santiago, Chile