Gutierre de Vargas Carvajal (1506–1559) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as

Bishop of Plasencia The Diocese of Plasencia () is a suffragan Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mérida-Badajoz, Archbishop of Mérida-Badajoz, in Extremadura, western Spain.

(1524–1559)."Bishop Gutierre Vargas de Carvajal"
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Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches that are in full communion with Rome. The website, not officially sanctioned by the Church, is run as a private pro ...

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved September 9, 2016

Biography

Gutierre de Vargas Carvajal born in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

in 1506. On 25 May 1524, he was appointed during the papacy of

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate o ...

. He was a great builder of churches, organizer of ecclesiastical administration, and a patron of the arts. He financed a maritime expedition crossing the

Straits of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago to the south. Considered the most important natural ...

, and his intended purpose was to colonize and evangelize

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

. He gave the Governor title of the

Governorate of New León The Governorate of New León was a Governorate of the Crown of Castile created in 1534. It was granted to Simón de Alcazaba y Sotomayor and later to Francisco de Camargo, expanding the territory to the Strait of Magellan bordering with the Gov ...

to his brother, Francisco de Camargo. He served as Bishop of Plasencia until his death on 27 April 1559. He died in

Jaraicejo Jaraicejo () is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2005 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 616 inhabitants. See also * List of municipalities in Cáceres This is a list of ...

(

province of Cáceres The province of Cáceres (; ; ; ) is a province of western Spain, and makes up the northern half of the autonomous community of Extremadura. Its capital is the city of Cáceres. Other cities in the province include Plasencia, Coria, Navalm ...

), but was buried in Madrid. Gutierre was more fond of the mundane and military life than the religious life, which led him to constant conflicts with his cathedral part. According to F. J. García Mogollón, Gutierre spent some of his life "in the midst of great moral laxity, and we even know that he had a love affair with Magdalena de Mendoza, a lady from Toledo related to the Marquises of Almazán, who was the niece of Canon Carlos de Mendoza, Count of Castro, also a person of dissolute life." From that relationship, Gutierre gave birth to Francisco de Vargas y Mendoza, who was recognized as the son of Bishop Vargas Carvajal by King Philip II in 1561. While bishop, he was the principal co-consecrator of Fernando Valdés,

Bishop of Elne The Diocese of Perpignan–Elne (Latin: ''Dioecesis Elnensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Perpignan–Elne''; Catalan: ''Bisbat de Perpinyà–Elna'') is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in France.''(sic)

Promoter of Church Construction

Gutierre was very intelligent in the art of architecture, which great lords are commonly fond of. He promoted the construction or renovation of numerous rural churches in his diocese of Plasencia. The list is long and includes churches in Malpartida de Plasencia, Oliva and Villar de Plasencia, Majadas, Serrejón, Saucedilla, Almaraz, Navalmoral de la Mata, Tejeda, Villanueva, Robledillo and Losar de la Vera, Jaraicejo, Garciaz, Ibahernando, Berzocana, San Martín and Santa María de Trujillo, Zorita, Escurial, Madrigalejo, Guareña, Santa Cecilia de Medellín and Santiago de Don Benito. In 1555, he established the Santa Ana College of the Society of Jesus in Plasencia, which comprises a college and a church. He also established the Christ of the Battles shrine, the Holy Cross or St. Roch hospital, and the Capuchin sisters' convent in Plasencia in 1556.

Organizer of Ecclesiastical Administration

In 1534, he called a diocesan synod in Jaraicejo (Cáceres), in which he anticipated the reforms that he would propose at the Council of Trent regarding the ordination and administration of dioceses. The 107 articles of the synodal constitutions covered a variety of subjects, including the establishment of baptismal registers in every parish, recurrent visits by the prelate to the towns, the lives of the clergy, and the tithe.

Mecenas

Between 1539 and 1541, Bishop Vargas provided funding for a three-ship naval expedition known as the "Armada of the Bishop of Plasencia" that was led by Friar Francisco de la Ribera, the newly appointed governor of Nueva León. The expedition set sail from Seville in August 1539, with the aim of crossing the Strait of Magellan, colonizing and evangelizing Patagonia, and reaching the coasts of Peru. Only one ship succeeded, the one commanded by his relative, Alonso de Camargo, which sighted the archipelago of Chiloé and managed to reach Arequipa (Peru).Francisco González Cuesta, ''Los obispos de Plasencia'', 2002, pp. 149-158 y 247-248

Reference

External links and additional sources

* (for Chronology of Bishops) * (for Chronology of Bishops) 16th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Spain 1506 births 1559 deaths Burials in Madrid {{Spain-RC-bishop-stub