Domínguez, Isidoro
DOMÍNGUEZ, ISIDORO
Spanish Caraccioline, last colonial archbishop of Santa Fe de Bogotá, Colombia; b. Galaroza, Huelva Province, Spain, April 1762; d. Burgos, April 1822. He studied at the seminary in Málaga. In 1806 he was appointed administrator of Gibraltar (a part of the diocese of Cádiz although a British possession), with the title of apostolic vicar-general dependent on the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide. He served successfully in this delicate position until August 1816. In December 1818, Ferdinand VII nominated him archbishop of Santa Fe. There were some difficulties over the approval in Rome, and the pontifical appointment was not made until August 1819. But on August 7 the battle of Boyacá took place, and General Bolívar entered Santa Fe and began to govern the area as president of the republic. The Spanish officials had to flee. Bishop Domínguez was consecrated in January 1820 by Bishop Luis López Castrilló, but for two reasons he could not leave for his diocese: no Spanish ships were leaving for Cartagena, and the republican government would not have received him. He spent the next two years in Spain in serious financial difficulty. In 1821 he was appointed vicar-general in the archbishopric of Burgos.
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