Luis Almarcha Hernández
Encyclopedia
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
cleric and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, and a bishop of León from 1944 to 1970. He also served as procurator in the Cortes
Cortes Generales
The Cortes Generales is the legislature of Spain. It is a bicameral parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate . The Cortes has power to enact any law and to amend the constitution...
during the Francoist regime.
Life
Hernández was born at OrihuelaOrihuela
Orihuela is a city and municipality located at the feet of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Spain. The city of Orihuela had a population of 32,472 inhabitants in the beginning of 2006...
, in the province of Alicante.
He began his ecclesiastical studies at the local Diocesan Seminary at the age of eleven, studying humanities, philosophy, and theology, and ten years later, in 1908, he moved to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, where he obtained his doctorate in canon law at the Gregorian University. He was ordained a priest on July 17, 1910, and on his return to Orihuela two years later, became a canon priest at the cathedral there. He was named professor of the seminary there and Prefect of Discipline. In 1923, he was named cantor
Cantor (church)
A cantor is the chief singer employed in a church with responsibilities for the ecclesiastical choir; also called the precentor....
of the cathedral, and in 1924, general vicar of the diocese.
Almarcha became an important figure in the diocese before and during the time of the Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
because the bishop of the diocese, Javier Irastorza, was frequently absent. In 1914, Almarcha founded the Syndicate of Catholic Workers of Our Lord Jesus (Sindicato de Obreros Católicos de Nuestro Padre Jesús), and 5 years later, founded the Federation of Agricultural Catholic Syndicates of Vega Baja del Segura
Vega Baja del Segura
Vega Baja del Segura is a comarca in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain.To the North its neighbouring comarcas are the Baix Vinalopó and Vinalopó Mitjà...
(Federación de Sindicatos Agrícolas Católicos de la Vega Baja del Segura).
He served as an advisor to the bank Caja de Ahorros de Nuestra Señora de Monserrate and founded the Catholic Circle of Saint Joseph for Workers (Círculo Católico de San José para Obreros), which later became the Social Catholic House of Orihuela (Casa Social Católica de Orihuela), and in 1933, founded the Social Institute (Instituto Social). He served as editor from 1914 of the magazine La Lectura Popular, and also of El Pueblo (from 1931).
At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, he was incarcerated in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
for a year, but he managed to escape to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. At the end of the war, he returned to Spain and was named procurator in the Cortes, representing the National Delegation of Syndicates from 1943-46, and was designated a member of the Royal Council (Consejo del Reino) by Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
, on which he served from 1946 to 1977. He participated in the drafting of many laws, including laws concerning university teaching and aid to large families, and also served as National Ecclesiastical Assessor of Syndicates from 1948. During his tenure, the church of San Juan y San Pedro de Renueva
San Juan y San Pedro de Renueva
San Juan y San Pedro de Renueva is a church in León, central Spain.It was built in the mid-20th century in Neo-Renaissance style by will of the local bishop, Luis Almarcha Hernández. Its main artistical feature is the entrance gate, in Baroque style, taken from the ruined monastery of San Pedro de...
was built in the city by will of Hernández.
He also served as advisor to Casa de León in Madrid, honorary president of the Caja Rural Cooperativa Agrícola Católica de Aspe, honorary advisor of the Instituto Nacional de Previsión de León, president of the Junta Nacional de Arte Sacro, assistant to the Solio Pontificio, honorary advisor of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Among his awards were the Cross of San Raimundo de Peñafort, the Great Cross of the Order of Cisneros, the Great Cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise, the Great Cross of Isabella the Catholic and the Medal of Honor of the Academia Real de Bellas Artes de San Fernando.
Pius XII named him bishop of León on July 10, 1944, and Almarcha was consecrated on October 29 of the same year, occupying this post until April 4, 1970, when he resigned for reasons of health. He participated in all of the sessions of the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
, involving himself in discussions concerning sacred art, social doctrine, and educating priests. He made five pastoral visits to his diocese, and in the diocese he organized the Sixth National Eucharistic Congress, the first and second National Week of Sacred Art, the Isidorian Year (Año Isidoriano), and the eleventh centenary of Coyoanza, and a diocesan synod.
He founded the in León the Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones “San Isidoro” and the Escuela Superior de Arte Sacro, organizing a major restoration of ancient artwork in the diocese.
He founded a cooperative of Casas Baratas in the neighborhood of San José de las Ventas in León, and later the Cajas de Pobres.