Valentín de la Asunción Zubizarreta y Unamunsaga, OCD ( Etxebarria, 2 November 1862 – 26 February 1948) was a

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

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 ...

, born in the Basque Country. He served as

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

Camagüey Camagüey () is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third-largest city with more than 333,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province. It was founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe in 1514, by Sp ...

from 1914 to 1922, Bishop of

Cienfuegos Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 178,368 in 2022. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, ...

from 1922 to 1925, and

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

from 1925 to 1948.

Biography

Early life and education

Manuel Zubizarreta y Unamunsaga was born on 2 November 1862 in Etxebarria, Bizkaia,

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 ...

. In 1879, he entered the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the

Discalced Carmelites The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel () or the Order of Discalced Carmelites (; abbreviation, abbrev.: OCD; sometimes called in earlier times, ), is a Catho ...

Larrea ''Larrea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of evergreen shrubs that are native to the Americas. The generic name honours Bishop Juan Antonio Hernández Pérez de Larrea, a patron of ...

, and upon first profession of vows, took the name of Valentín de la Asunción.

Priesthood

Zubizarreta was 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 ...

at the Larrea novitiate on 18 December 1886, and celebrated his Mass in Marquina the next day. In 1887, he was appointed professor of

dogmatic theology Dogmatic theology, also called dogmatics, is the part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and God's works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Chu ...

at the Carmelite college in

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

. In 1892, he was elected prior of the monastery in

Vitoria-Gasteiz Vitoria-Gasteiz (; ; also historically spelled Vittoria in English) is the seat of government and the capital city of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country and of the provinces of Spain, province of Álava in northern Spain. I ...

. In 1900, he was elected

provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Canad ...

of the

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

Province of the Discalced Carmelites. In 1903, he was appointed visitor of the order in

and

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 ...

. From 1907 to 1912, Zubizarreta lived in

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, ...

, where he served as General Secretary, the assistant to the

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of an 'order' of religious persons (nuns, priests, friars, etc) or, in other words, of a 'religious institute' in the Catholic Church, and in some other Christian denominations. The super ...

of the Discalced Carmelites. In 1912, he returned to

, where he was reelected provincial of Navarre.

Episcopacy

It was during his term as Navarre provincial that Zubizarreta was raised to the episcopacy. He was appointed Bishop of Camagüey by

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 ...

on 25 May 1914. His

episcopal consecration 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 ...

took place in the Carmelites church of Nuestra Señora de La Merced in

. His

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, ...

was Archbishop of

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

Adolfo Alejandro Nouel Adolfo Alejandro Nouel y Bobadilla (12 December 1862, Santo Domingo – 26 June 1937) was an archbishop, educator and interim president of the Dominican Republic. Early life and education Nouel was born to Carlos Rafael Nouel y Pierret, a Dom ...

, and co-consecrators were Bishop of San Cristóbal de la Habana Pedro Ladislao González y Estrada and Bishop of

Antonio Aurelio Torres y Sanz, OCD. Bishop of

Pinar del Río Pinar del Río is the capital city of Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. With a population of 191,081 (2022), it is the List of cities in Cuba, 10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called ''Pinareños''. History Pinar del Río was ...

José Manuel Dámaso Rúiz y Rodríguez José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

preached the homily. On 3 January 1916 Zubizarreta was appointed

apostolic administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the Diocese of Cienfuegos, the episcopacy of which was vacant upon Bishop Antonio Torres y Sanz. On 24 February 1922,

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

appointed him Bishop of Cienfuegos. On 28 January 1925, Bishop of Santiago de Cuba Feliz Ambrosio Guerra Fezza, SDB, resigned, and Zubizarreta was appointed apostolic administrator. On 30 March 1925 he was appointed Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba and reverted to being apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Cienfuegos. He was installed Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba on 28 June 1925. He continued to also administer the Diocese of Cienfuegos were over 10 years, until the appointment of Eduardo Martínez Dalmau as bishop on 16 November 1935. On 13 July 1934, Zubizarreta was appointed

Assistant at the Pontifical Throne The Bishops-Assistant at the Pontifical Throne were ecclesiastical titles in the Catholic Church. It designated prelates belonging to the Papal Chapel, who stood near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions. They ranked immediately below the ...

. In 1936, he oversaw the Diocesan Eucharistic Congress, and the coronation of Our Lady of Charity on 20 December of that year. He built the National Shrine of El Cobre and founded the Seminary of St. Basil the Great. He was also a great patron of

Catholic Action Catholic Action is a movement of Catholic laity, lay people within the Catholic Church which advocates for increased Catholic influence on society. Catholic Action groups were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic cou ...

groups, and in 1943 and 1944, presided over induction ceremonies of the Catholic Youth and Catholic Knights organizations. He was awarded the Order of

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Carlos Manuel de Céspedes del Castillo (18 April 1819, Bayamo, Spanish Cuba – 27 February 1874, San Lorenzo, Spanish Cuba) was a Cuban revolutionary hero and First President of Cuba in Arms in 1868. Cespedes, who was a plantation owne ...

of Cuba and named Honorary Citizen of the city of

. Despite his advanced age, Zubizarreta traveled extensively through his large archdiocese, and made frequent trips to

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Death

Valentín Zubizarreta y Unamunsaga died of

bronchopneumonia Bronchopneumonia is a subtype of pneumonia. It is the acute inflammation of the Bronchus, bronchi, accompanied by inflamed patches in the nearby lobules of the lungs. citing: Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition, Copyright 2014 ...

on Thursday, 26 February 1948 in the

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

of Santiago de Cuba. His decline in health was a quick one, having been working even the past Saturday. He was buried on Saturday, 28 February at St. Ifigenia Cemetery in Santiago de Cuba, after a procession from the cathedral drawing crowds estimated at 40,000 to 85,000 people.

Episcopal lineage

* Cardinal

Scipione Rebiba Scipione Rebiba (3 February 1504 – 23 July 1577) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, a protégé of Gian Pietro Carafa, who became Pope Paul IV. He held a variety of positions in the Church hierarchy, including some of the most sen ...

* Cardinal

Giulio Antonio Santorio Giulio Antonio Santorio (6 June 1532 – 9 May 1602) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Biography Santorio was born in Caserta. He served as Archbishop of Santa Severina from 1566 until his death.

(1566) * Cardinal

Girolamo Bernerio Girolamo Cardinal Bernerio, O.P. (1540 – 5 August 1611) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Biography Bernerio was born in Corregio. He served as Bishop of Ascoli Piceno from 1586 until his resignation in 1605. He was ...

, OP (1586) * Archbishop

Galeazzo Sanvitale Galeazzo Sanvitale (died 8 September 1622) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Bari-Canosa (1604–1606). ''(in Latin)''Ludovico Ludovisi Ludovico Ludovisi (22 or 27 October 1595 – 18 November 1632) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal and statesman of the Roman Catholic Church. He was an art connoisseur who formed a famous collection of antiquities, housed at the ...

(1621) * Cardinal

Luigi Caetani Luigi Caetani (July 1595 – 15 April 1642) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Biography Caetani was born in Piedimonte. Son of Filippo I Caetani, duke of Sermoneta, and Camilla Gaetani dell'Aquila d'Aragona, of the duk ...

(1622) * Cardinal

Ulderico Carpegna Ulderico Carpegna (24 June 1595 – 24 January 1679) was an Italian jurist and Cardinal. Early life Born at Scavolino, he was from a family of the Roman nobility, connected with the Montefeltro family. He was the son of Tommaso di Carpegna, Co ...

(1630) * Cardinal

Paluzzo Paluzzi Altieri degli Albertoni Paluzzo Paluzzi Altieri degli Albertoni (8 June 1623 – 29 June 1698) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal and Cardinal-Nephew to Pope Clement X. Biography Altieri was born Paluzzo Paluzzi degli Albertoni in Rome, the eldest of two sons to Antoni ...

(1666) *

Pope Benedict XIII Pope Benedict XIII (; ; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco (or Pierfrancesco) Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May 1724 to his death in ...

(1675) *

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV (; ; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Benedict X (1058–1059) is now con ...

(1724) *

Pope Clement XIII Pope Clement XIII (; ; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. He was installed on 16 July 1758. ...

(1743) * Cardinal

Bernardino Giraud Bernardino Giraud (born 14 July 1721 in Rome, died 5 May 1782) was a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Apostolic Nuncio to France from 1767 to 1773, and as Archbishop of Ferrara from 1773 until his resignation in 1777. He was elevated ...

(1767) * Cardinal Alessandro Mattei (1777) * Cardinal Pietro Francesco Galleffi (1819) * Cardinal

Giacomo Filippo Fransoni Giacomo Filippo Fransoni (10 December 1775 – 20 April 1856) was an Italian prelate and cardinal who served from 1834 to 1856 as prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. He was the cardinal priest of the Church of ...

(1822) * Cardinal Carlo Sacconi (1851) * Cardinal

Edward Henry Howard Edward Henry Howard (13 February 1829 – 16 September 1892) was an English Catholic priest and archbishop, who was made a Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal in 1877. He was a relative of the Duke of Norfolk, Dukes of Norfolk. Howard is in the epi ...

(1872) * Cardinal

Mariano Rampolla Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro (17 August 1843 – 16 December 1913) was an Italian Cardinal in the Catholic Church, and the last man to have his candidacy for papal election vetoed through ''jus exclusivae'' by a Catholic monarch. Rampolla is i ...

(1882) * Cardinal

Rafael Merry del Val Rafael Merry del Val y Zulueta, (10 October 1865 – 26 February 1930) was a Spanish Catholic bishop, Vatican official, and cardinal. Before becoming a cardinal, he served as the secretary of the papal conclave of 1903 that elected Pope Pius ...

(1900) * Archbishop

(1904) * Archbishop Valentín Zubizarreta y Unamunsaga (1914)

Awards and honors

, 1934 * Order of

of Cuba

Bibliography

* ''Medulla Theologiæ Dogmaticæ'' (1948) * ''Teologia Dogmaica Scholastica'' (1949)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zubizarreta y Unamunsaga, Valentín 1862 births 1948 deaths Spanish expatriates in Cuba Cuban people of Spanish descent Cuban people of Basque descent 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Cuba Discalced Carmelite bishops Spanish Roman Catholic bishops in North America Basque Roman Catholic priests Deaths from pneumonia in Cuba Deaths from bronchopneumonia Roman Catholic archbishops of Santiago de Cuba Roman Catholic bishops of Cienfuegos Roman Catholic bishops of Camagüey