The Titular Patriarchate of the West Indies ( la, Patriarchatus Indiarum Occidentalium) is a

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language onc ...

titular Titular may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Title character in a narrative work, the character referred to in its title Religion * Titular (Catholicism), a cardinal who holds a titulus, one of the main churches of Rome ** Titular bisho ...

patriarchate Patriarchate ( grc, πατριαρχεῖον, ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, designating the office and jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical patriarch. According to Christian tradition three patriarchates were est ...

of the

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. It is

vacant Within the context of building construction and building codes, "occupancy" refers to the use, or intended use, of a building, or portion of a building, for the shelter or support of persons, animals or property. A closely related meaning is ...

since the death of its last holder in 1963."Patriarchate of West Indies"
''

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The website is not officially sanctioned by the Church. It is run as a private project by David M. Cheney in ...

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016"Titular Patriarchal See of Indias Occidentales"
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016

Attempt to create a jurisdictional Patriarchate in the Spanish West Indies

King Ferdinand V of Castile asked

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

to establish a patriarchate for the ecclesiastical government of the American territories discovered by the Spaniards. The

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

was not keen to accept the establishment of such an autonomous

Spanish American Spanish Americans ( es, españoles estadounidenses, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in th ...

church and, on 11 May 1524,

Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio 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 ...

agreed to create it but only as honorific, without jurisdiction and without

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. In addition, the Patriarch was banned from actually residing in the Americas. Antonio de Rojas, archbishop of Granada and

bishop of Palencia The Roman Catholic Diocese of Palencia ( la, Palentin(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Palencia in the ecclesiastical province of Burgos, Spain.

, was the first patriarch. The following patriarchs were the

bishop of Jaén A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

Esteban Gabriel Merino Esteban Gabriel Merino (died 1535) was a Spanish Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography Merino was born in Santisteban del Puerto, ca. 1472, the son of Alonso Merino and Mayor de Amorcuende, a family of the lowest condition. His father ...

(1530–1535) and the archbishop of Granada Fernando Niño de Guevara (not the homonymous cardinal) (1546–1552). After the Niño de Guevara's death, the office remained vacant because Philip II, against the Holy See policy, wished an actual jurisdictional Patriarchate. Finally, the king agreed in 1591 to propose the archbishop of Mexico City (but who was actually resident in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

as President of the

Council of the Indies The Council of the Indies ( es, Consejo de las Indias), officially the Royal and Supreme Council of the Indies ( es, Real y Supremo Consejo de las Indias, link=no, ), was the most important administrative organ of the Spanish Empire for the Amer ...

) Pedro Moya de Contreras. However, the new patriarch died before he could take the oath of his new office. In 1602, Philip III abandoned the idea of a jurisdictional Patriarchate and used it as an honorific title for noble clergymen.Hernández Ruigómez, Manuel: "Patriarcado de Indias", in Artola, M. (ed.): ''Enciclopedia de Historia de España'', Madrid: Alianza, V, pp. 927-928

Merge with the Spanish Military Vicariate

In 1705,

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

named Patriarch Carlos de Borja Centellas the Military Vicar (General) of the Spanish Armies. Beginning in 1736, Pope Clement XII merged the office of

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of the Spanish Armies with the Patriarchate of the West Indies ''pro tempore et ad septennium'', that is, "temporarily for seven years", and added to those titles the Royal Palace's Chaplaincy in 1741. Clement XIII decreed the merger of the Patriarchate and the Military Vicariate in 1762.Arzobispadocastrense.com: Raíces históricas de la pastoral con los militares

Last incumbent and current status

In 1933, Patriarch Ramón Pérez Rodríguez was appointed Bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta.Catholic Hierarchy: Archdiocese of West Indies
an

/ref> The previous year, the Republican Government had abolished the Military Vicariate. Thus, the Patriarchate remained vacant. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

, the Nationalists organized a religious military service and the Holy See appointed

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

Isidro Gomá,

Archbishop of Toledo This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana).

, as interim Pontifical Delegate. In 1940, Gomá died and the auxiliary bishop Gregorio Modrego was commissioned with the deceased cardinal's military duties. In 1942, Modrego was appointed

bishop of Barcelona The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Barcelona is a Latin rite Catholic metropolitan archbishopric in northeastern Spain's Catalonia region. The cathedral archiepiscopal see is a Minor basilica: Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de la Santa Creu i ...

. During all that time, the Patriarchate remained vacant. In 1946, the Bishop of Madrid

Leopoldo Eijo y Garay Leopoldo is a given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese form of the English, German, Dutch, Polish, and Slovene name, Leopold. Notable people with the name include: * Leopoldo de' Medici (1617–1675), Italian cardinal and Governor of ...

was appointed Patriarch of the West Indies, but without the Military Ordinariate, which was established once more as a military archbishopric in 1950, this time without any association with the patriarch's title. Since Eijo's death, this titular patriarchate has remained vacant and is not considered likely to be filled.

List of Patriarchs of the West Indies

References

External links

GCatholic, with incumbents list linking to biographies
{{Patriarchates in Christianity 1524 establishments in North America

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...