Victoriano Guisasola y Menéndez J.C.D. (21 April 1852 – 2 September 1920) was a

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

Roman 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 ...

and an archbishop of Toledo and Primate of Spain.

Early life and priesthood

Victoriano Guisasola y Menéndez was born in

Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...

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 the nephew of Victoriano Guisasola Rodríguez, Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela.Florida International University website, Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, ''Biographical Dictionary of Pope Pius X (1903-1914), Consistory of May 25, 1914 (VII)''
/ref> He was educated at 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 ...

of Oviedo and the University of Santiago de Compostela, 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 ...

and a doctorate in canon law.Spanish Royal Academy of History website, Biography section, ''Victoriano Guisasola y Menéndez'', article by Vicente Cárcel Ortí
/ref> He was ordained in 1876 by his uncle. He served as

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canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

at the Seminary of

Ciudad Real Ciudad Real (, ) is a municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha, capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It is the 5th most populated municipality in the region. It was founded as Villa Real in 1255 as a ro ...

from 1876 until 1882. He was

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 A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

to his uncle the bishop of Orihuela from 1882 until 1884. He served as

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of Orihuela until 1886.

Episcopate

He was appointed bishop of Osma on 15 June 1893 by

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 ...

. He was consecrated on 1 October 1893 at the

cathedral of Santiago de Compostela The Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica (Spanish language, Spanish and Galician language, Galician: ) is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela, Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and is an inte ...

by José María Martín de Herrera y de la Iglesia, Cardinal

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 ...

of Compostela. He was transferred to the Diocese of Jaén on 19 April 1897. He was appointed in 1899 as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

of the kingdom, a post he held until his death. He was transferred to the diocese of Madrid in December 1901. He was promoted to Archdiocese of Valencia on 14 December 1905. He was finally transferred to the metropolitan and primatial see of Toledo on 1 January 1914 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 ...

Cardinalate

He was made a cardinal in the consistory of 25 May 1914 but Pius X did not assign him a title before his death; his successor, Pope Benedict XV, made him the Cardinal-Priest of '' Santi Quattro Coronati'' (the pope's former title). He received the red biretta from King Alfonso XIII of Spain on June 3 of that year. He participated in the conclave of 1914 that elected Pope Benedict XV. He died in 1920 while still in office and is buried at the chapel of the Seminary of Toledo.Archdiocese of Toledo website, ''Episcopology: Archbishop Victoriano Guisasola y Menéndez (1914-1920)''
/ref>

Recognition

Menéndez was awarded the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

; he was also recognised by the Academy of History.Little Spaniard website, Asturian Writers and Artists section, ''Guisasola y Uisasola y Menéndez (Victoriano)''
/ref> Menéndez wrote many letters and newspaper articles during his life. His works are published in 25 volumes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guisasola y Menendez, Victoriano 1852 births 1920 deaths People from Oviedo 20th-century Spanish cardinals 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Spain Bishops of Jaén Bishops of Osma Archbishops of Toledo University of Oviedo alumni University of Salamanca alumni Cardinals created by Pope Pius X Bishops of Madrid