Crescente Errázuriz Valdivieso

Archbishop Crescente Errázuriz Valdivieso, 1920

Crescente José de los Dolores de María Santísima Errázuriz Valdivieso (born November 28, 1839 in Santiago de Chile , † June 5, 1931 ibid) was a Chilean Dominican , church historian and lawyer who became Archbishop of Santiago .

Life

P. Errázuriz in the habit of the Dominicans

Errázuriz attended the Escuela de las señoras Fernández Díaz and the Colegio de Justino Fagalde . In 1851 his uncle, Archbishop Rafael Valentín Valdivieso , enrolled him in the theological seminary. In 1863 he was ordained a priest in the Monastery of Our Lady on Mount Carmel and then became the editor of the Revista Católica . In 1869 he accompanied his uncles to the First Vatican Council as secretary .

From 1872 Errázuriz taught at the theological faculty of the Universidad de Chile ; In 1883 he received a professorship for canon law here. He wrote a Compendio de Derecho Canónico . In 1873 he entered the Real Academia Española and became one of the founders of the Academia Chilena. In 1874 he founded the Estandarte Católico , which was directed against the secularization policy of the government of his brother Federico Errázuriz Zañartu . After the death of his uncle in 1878 Errázuriz gave up the management of the Estandarte católico and retired into private life. During this time he published writings such as Seis años de historia de Chile (1881-1882) and Novena de preparación para el nacimiento de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo .

In 1884 Errézuriz entered the convent of the Dominican Recollections in Santiago de Chile and made profession in 1885 . During the twenty years of his religious life, other books were written, including Vida oculta de Jesucristo en Dios , Mes de María del Rosario (1885), Manual del religioso dominicano (1887), Novena al Señor de la Buena Esperanza (1893), Mes de noviembre dedicado a las Almas del Purgatorio (1899) and Mes de San José (1899). His work was recognized by being accepted into the Real Academia Española de la Lengua de Chile and being awarded a gold medal by the Sociedad de Historia y Geografía de Chile. In 1914 he became president of the Academia Chilena de la Historia.

In 1906 he fell so seriously ill that he had to leave the convent in 1909. He became a secular priest in Santiago and wrote other works on the church history of Chile. In 1918, the Juan Luis Sanfuentes government proposed him as Archbishop of Santiago. Pope Benedict XV endorsed the proposal, and the following year Errázuriz was ordained bishop in Santiago Cathedral.

In 1920 he suggested the establishment of the dioceses of Valparaíso and Talca . In November 1924 he chaired an episcopal conference at which the separation of church and civil society was accepted. In the new constitution of 1925, the separation of state and church was enshrined. Through his personality, Errázuriz had a balancing effect between the various positions during this period of upheaval. He held the office of Archbishop of Santiago until his death in 1931.

Web links

• La web de las biografías - Errázuriz Valdivieso, Crescente
• Biografía de Chile - Crescente Errázuriz Valdivieso
• Catholic Hierachy - Archbishop Crescente Errázuriz Valdivieso †