Saint Juan de Ribera was born in the city of
SevilleSeville is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level. The inhabitants of the city are known as Sevillanos or...
, Spain, on March 20, 1532, and died in Valencia on January 6, 1611. Ribera was one of the most influential figures of his times, holding appointments as Archbishop and Viceroy of Valencia, patriarch of
AntiochAntioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River...
, Commander in Chief, president of the Audiencia, and Chancellor of the University of Valencia. He was beatified in 1796 and canonized by
Pope John XXIIIBlessed Pope John XXIII , born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli , known as Blessed John XXIII since his beatification, was elected as the 261st Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City on October 28, 1958.He called the Second Vatican Council but did not live to see it to completion,...
in 1960.
His father was Pedro de Ribera, Viceroy of
NaplesNaples in Italy, is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture, architecture, music and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old...
and Duke of Alcala.
Saint Juan de Ribera was born in the city of
SevilleSeville is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level. The inhabitants of the city are known as Sevillanos or...
, Spain, on March 20, 1532, and died in Valencia on January 6, 1611. Ribera was one of the most influential figures of his times, holding appointments as Archbishop and Viceroy of Valencia, patriarch of
AntiochAntioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River...
, Commander in Chief, president of the Audiencia, and Chancellor of the University of Valencia. He was beatified in 1796 and canonized by
Pope John XXIIIBlessed Pope John XXIII , born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli , known as Blessed John XXIII since his beatification, was elected as the 261st Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City on October 28, 1958.He called the Second Vatican Council but did not live to see it to completion,...
in 1960.
Biography
His father was Pedro de Ribera, Viceroy of
NaplesNaples in Italy, is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture, architecture, music and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old...
and Duke of Alcala. He became an orphan from mother's side at a very young age.
Juan de Ribera studied at the
University of SalamancaThe University of Salamanca , located in the town of Salamanca, west of Madrid, is the oldest university in Spain , and one of the oldest in Europe. It was founded by Alfonso IX of León in 1218 as a "General School"...
. Ordained as priest in 1557, Pope Pius IV appointed him Bishop of Badajoz on May 27, 1562, at the age of 30. There he dedicated himself to teaching the
catechismA catechism is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
to Roman Catholics and counteracting
ProtestantismProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
. He was appointed as the
Archbishop of ValenciaThe Archdiocese of Valencia is a Catholic ecclesiastical territory located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, part of the autonomous community of Valencia. The archdiocese heads the ecclesiastical province of Valencia, having Metropolitan authority over the suffragan dioceses of...
on December 3, 1568.
King Philip III of SpainPhilip III was the King of Spain and King of Portugal and the Algarves, where he ruled as Philip II of Portugal , from 1598 until his death. His chief minister was the Duke of Lerma...
later appointed him
Viceroy of Valencia in 1602, and thus he became both the religious and the civil authority. In this role he founded the Museum of the Patriarch, known among Valencians as
College of Saint John, entrusted to the formation of priests according to the spirit and the dispositions of the
Council of TrentThe Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. Considered to be one of the Church's most important councils, it convened in Trento between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
.
Expulsion of the Moriscos
As Archbishop, Ribera dealt with the issue of Valencia's large
moriscoA morisco or mourisco , meaning "Moor-like", was a nominally Catholic inhabitant of Spain and Portugal of Muslim heritage. Over time the term was used in a pejorative sense applied to those nominal Catholics who were suspected of secretly practicing Islam...
population, descendants of Muslims who converted to Christianity at threat of exile. The moriscos had been kept separate from the main population by a variety of decrees that prohibited them from holding public office, entering the priesthood, or taking certain other positions; as a result, the moriscos had maintained their own culture rather than assimilated. Some of them did, in fact, still practice forms of crypto-Islam in secret.
Ribera despised the moriscos as heretics and traitors, a dislike he shared with much of Valencia's Christian populace. With the Duke of Lerma, Ribera helped convince Philip III to at least expel the moriscos instead. Ribera helped sell the plan by noting that all the property of the moriscos could be impounded to provide money for the treasury. In 1609, the
expulsion of the moriscosOn April 9, 1609, King Philip III of Spain decreed the expulsion of the Moriscos. The Moriscos were the descendants of the Muslim population that converted to Christianity under threat of exile from Ferdinand and Isabella in 1502. From 1609 through 1614, the Spanish government systematically...
from Spain was decreed. Ribera's original proposal was in fact more extreme: he favored
enslavingSlavery is a form of forced labor in which people are considered to be the property of others. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive compensation...
the entire morisco population for work in galleys, mines, and
abroadSlavery in the Spanish colonies began with the capture and subjugation of local Native Americans. Initially, enslavement represented one means by which the Spaniards mobilized native labor. Other forms of coerced labor used were the encomienda, repartimiento and the mita...
. Ribera said that Philip III could do so "without any scruples of conscience," but this proposal was rejected. If the moriscos were to be expelled, Ribera favored enslaving and Christianizing at least the children of the moriscos "for the good of their souls" and exiling the parents. This was also rejected, though children under 16 years of age who wished to remain in Spain were allowed, an offer very few took.
Canonization
Efforts to canonize Ribera, who himself had been active in attempting to canonize Ignatius Loyola, began shortly after his death. Two concerns were raised about his possible sainthood: his failure to hold a provincial council as mandated by the
Council of TrentThe Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. Considered to be one of the Church's most important councils, it convened in Trento between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
, and his role in the
expulsion of the MoriscosOn April 9, 1609, King Philip III of Spain decreed the expulsion of the Moriscos. The Moriscos were the descendants of the Muslim population that converted to Christianity under threat of exile from Ferdinand and Isabella in 1502. From 1609 through 1614, the Spanish government systematically...
. His supporters played up Ribera's adherence to other parts of the Council of Trent, and tried to present the Moriscos as unconvertible ("[His conversion attempts] had no more effect on the moriscos as if they had been stones"). The Pope had not granted approval for the Expulsion and had held out hope that they might be truly converted to Christianity. Still, efforts proceeded apace, with various admiring biographies (
vidas) of Ribera being published. Ribera was beatified in 1796. In 1960, his canonization was complete under the auspices of
Pope John XXIIIBlessed Pope John XXIII , born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli , known as Blessed John XXIII since his beatification, was elected as the 261st Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City on October 28, 1958.He called the Second Vatican Council but did not live to see it to completion,...
.