Crisanto Luque Sánchez
Encyclopedia
Crisanto Luque Sánchez was a Colombia
n Cardinal
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He served as Archbishop of Bogotá
from 1950 to 1959, and was elevated to the cardinalate
in 1953 by Pope Pius XII
.
to Heliodoro Luque and Natalia Sáchez. After studying in Tabio
, he attended the seminary
in Bogotá
, alongside his future successor as Archbishop of the same, Luis Concha Córdoba
. Luque was ordained
to the priesthood
by Archbishop Bernardo Herrera Restrepo on October 28, 1916, and then did pastoral
work in Bogotá until 1931. During that period, he served as a hospital
chaplain
, vicar
, and pastor
.
On January 16, 1931, Luque was appointed Auxiliary Bishop
of Tunja and Titular Bishop
of Croae. He received his episcopal consecration
on the following May 3 from Archbishop Paolo Giobbe
, with Bishops José Ignacio López Umana and Luis Adriano Díaz serving as co-consecrators
, in the Cathedral of Bogotá
. Luque served as Vicar General
and Apostolic Administrator
before becoming Bishop
of Tunja on September 9, 1932. He was later named Archbishop of Bogotá
and thus Primate
of the Church in Colombia
on July 14, 1950. On that same date, he was also made the first Apostolic Vicar
of the Colombian Military Ordinariate
.
Pope Pius XII
created him Cardinal Priest
of Santi Cosma e Damiano
in the consistory
of January 12, 1953. Luque, the first Colombian cardinal, was papal legate
to the third National Marian Congress in 1954, and attended the first general conference of the Latin American Episcopal Conference
in 1955. In 1951, he formally asked the Ministry of Education
to remove José Rodriguez's paintings, which contained nude subjects, from the National Museum
. Luque also played a prominent role in the civil and political crisis
that affected his country from 1949 to 1958, and participated
in the 1958 papal conclave
that selected Pope John XXIII
.
An opponent of President
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
, the Colombian primate condemned Rojas' "Third Force
" political movement, and denounced an oath
of loyalty he demanded from his political party
in June 1957 as "illicit" and his party "dangerous". To the military junta
that replaced Rojas, he also threatened to withdraw the Church's support if it did not turn over power in free elections. Luque warned his flock of incurring excommunication
for sending their children to Protestant
-run high school
s, which were considered to be of high quality.
The Cardinal died from a pulmonary hemorrhage
in Bogotá, at age 70. He is buried in the metropolitan
cathedral
of that same city.
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He served as Archbishop of Bogotá
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bogotá
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bogotá is part of the Roman Catholic Church in Colombia. It was founded as the Diocese of Santafé en Nueva Granada on 11 September 1562...
from 1950 to 1959, and was elevated to the cardinalate
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
in 1953 by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
.
Biography
Crisanto Luque Sánchez was born in TenjoTenjo
Tenjo is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca....
to Heliodoro Luque and Natalia Sáchez. After studying in Tabio
Tabio
Tabio is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. It is located at from Bogotá. The population was 20,714 at 2005...
, he attended the seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
in Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, alongside his future successor as Archbishop of the same, Luis Concha Córdoba
Luis Concha Córdoba
Luis Concha Córdoba was a Colombian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Bogotá from 1959 to 1972, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1961.-Biography:...
. Luque was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
to the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
by Archbishop Bernardo Herrera Restrepo on October 28, 1916, and then did pastoral
Parish (Catholic Church)
In the Roman Catholic Church, a parish is the lowest ecclesiastical geographical subdivision: from ecclesiastical province to diocese to deanery to parish.-Requirements:A parish needs two things under common law to become a parish...
work in Bogotá until 1931. During that period, he served as a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
, vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
, and pastor
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
.
On January 16, 1931, Luque was appointed Auxiliary Bishop
Auxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
of Tunja and Titular Bishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Croae. He received his episcopal consecration
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on the following May 3 from Archbishop Paolo Giobbe
Paolo Giobbe
Paolo Giobbe was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Papal Datary in the Roman Curia from 1959 to 1968, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958.-Biography:...
, with Bishops José Ignacio López Umana and Luis Adriano Díaz serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
, in the Cathedral of Bogotá
Primary Cathedral of Bogotá
The Archbishopric Cathedral of Bogotá is a Roman Catholic cathedral located at the eastern side of Bolívar Square in Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. It is seat of the Archbishop of Bogotá, Cardinal Mon. Pedro Rubiano Saenz....
. Luque served as Vicar General
Vicar general
A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular...
and Apostolic Administrator
Apostolic Administrator
An apostolic administrator in the Roman Catholic Church is a prelate appointed by the Pope to serve as the ordinary for an apostolic administration...
before becoming Bishop
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
of Tunja on September 9, 1932. He was later named Archbishop of Bogotá
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bogotá
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bogotá is part of the Roman Catholic Church in Colombia. It was founded as the Diocese of Santafé en Nueva Granada on 11 September 1562...
and thus Primate
Primate (religion)
Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
of the Church in Colombia
Roman Catholicism in Colombia
Colombia has a high percentage of Catholics, 90% of the population. There are 74 dioceses and other territorial jurisdictions.Catholicism was introduced in 1508. Two dioceses were organized in 1534. There was appreciable Church growth by the mid-17th century, in spite of the variety of Indian...
on July 14, 1950. On that same date, he was also made the first Apostolic Vicar
Apostolic vicariate
An apostolic vicariate is a form of territorial jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church established in missionary regions and countries that do not have a diocese. It is essentially provisional, though it may last for a century or more...
of the Colombian Military Ordinariate
Military ordinariate
A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church, of Latin or Eastern Rite, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation....
.
Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
created him Cardinal Priest
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
of Santi Cosma e Damiano
Santi Cosma e Damiano
The basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano is a church in Rome, Italy, located in the Roman Forum. It is one of the ancient churches called tituli, of which cardinals are patrons as deacons: the Cardinal Deacon of the Titulus Ss. Cosmae et Damiani is Giovanni Cheli...
in the consistory
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
of January 12, 1953. Luque, the first Colombian cardinal, was papal legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
to the third National Marian Congress in 1954, and attended the first general conference of the Latin American Episcopal Conference
Latin American Episcopal Conference
The Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano , also known as CELAM, is a conference of the Roman Catholic bishops of Latin America, created in 1955 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil....
in 1955. In 1951, he formally asked the Ministry of Education
Council of Ministers of the Republic of Colombia
The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Colombia is part of the executive power, and according to the presidential orientation of the Colombian Constitution of 1991, it is a cabinet of advisors to the President of Colombia.-19th century:...
to remove José Rodriguez's paintings, which contained nude subjects, from the National Museum
Colombian National Museum
The National Museum of Colombia is the National Museum of Colombia housing collections on its history, art, culture. Located in Bogotá downtown, is the biggest and oldest museum in Colombia. The National Museum of Colombia is a dependancy of the Colombian Ministry of Culture.The National Museum is...
. Luque also played a prominent role in the civil and political crisis
La Violencia
La Violencia is a period of civil conflict in the Colombian countryside between supporters of the Colombian Liberal Party and the Colombian Conservative Party, a conflict which took place roughly from 1948 to 1958 ....
that affected his country from 1949 to 1958, and participated
Cardinal electors in Papal conclave, 1958
The following were the cardinal electors in the 1958 papal conclave. Arranged by region , and within each alphabetically...
in the 1958 papal conclave
Papal conclave, 1958
The Papal conclave of 1958 occurred following the death of Pope Pius XII on 9 October 1958 in Castel Gandolfo, after a 19-year pontificate. The conclave to elect his successor commenced on 25 October and ended three days later, on 28 October, after eleven ballots. The cardinal electors chose Angelo...
that selected Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
.
An opponent of President
President of Colombia
The President of Colombia is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Colombia. The office of president was established upon the ratification of the Constitution of 1819, by the Congress of Angostura, convened in December 1819, when Colombia was part of "la Gran Colombia"...
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla was a Colombian politician, military officer, General of the Army and President of Colombia between 1953 and 1957.- Biographic data :...
, the Colombian primate condemned Rojas' "Third Force
Third Force
The Third Force was a paramilitary movement established by unionist politicians in Northern Ireland in 1981.The group was established by Ian Paisley, ostensibly as a complement to the security forces, although it bore many of the hallmarks of the earlier Ulster Protestant Volunteers...
" political movement, and denounced an oath
Oath
An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...
of loyalty he demanded from his political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in June 1957 as "illicit" and his party "dangerous". To the military junta
Military junta
A junta or military junta is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term derives from the Spanish language junta meaning committee, specifically a board of directors...
that replaced Rojas, he also threatened to withdraw the Church's support if it did not turn over power in free elections. Luque warned his flock of incurring excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
for sending their children to Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
-run high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
s, which were considered to be of high quality.
The Cardinal died from a pulmonary hemorrhage
Pulmonary hemorrhage
Pulmonary hemorrhage is an acute bleeding from the lung, especially in the upper respiratory tract and the endotracheal tube. When evident clinically, the condition is usually massive, associated with bleeding in other sites as well as more than one third of the lungs...
in Bogotá, at age 70. He is buried in the metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
of that same city.