MOSQUERA, MANUEL JOSÉ

Archbishop of Bogotá, staunch opponent of regalism; b. Popayán, 1800; d. Marseilles, France, 1853. He was a member of a distinguished family. He studied in Popayán and Quito. After being ordained, he held several posts in Popayán: rector of the University of Cauca, canon, and vicar-general. Selected archbishop of Bogotá by the congress of 1834, his selection was confirmed by the Pope, and he took over his see in 1835. From the start, he worked for the sanctification of his clergy. To this end he reorganized the seminary and made it a model for others in Spanish America; he organized the Spiritual Exercises for the priests and issued important decrees on ecclesiastical discipline. He visited all of his extensive diocese and endeavored to provide for the Christian education of youth. For this purpose he opened a secondary school run by the Jesuits; he adapted the catechism to the needs of the people of his diocese; and he helped to establish elementary schools. Mosquera tried to support the legitimate government in times of revolution, and this made many enemies for him. Since the government considered itself the heir of the Spanish crown in the exercise of patronage, the congress of 1851 passed a series of laws on religious matters that amounted to serious interference in the discipline of the Church. The archbishop of Bogotá addressed respectful but forceful messages to the congress and to the president, requesting the repeal of these laws and stating that in good conscience he could not comply with them. He asked his suffragans to work to the same end. The congress of 1852 took him to court for disobeying the laws and inciting others to do so, and he was condemned to exile and deprived of his salary. Pope Pius IX on several occasions formally approved the archbish op's conduct. Mosquera traveled to the United States, where he was given a warm demonstration by the Catholics of New York. He continued to France and was en route to Rome to see the pope when he died.

Bibliography: m. m. de mosquera, Documentos para la biografía e historia del espicopado del … Manuel José Mosquera, 3 v. (Paris 1858).

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