Donoso, Justo
DONOSO, JUSTO
Chilean bishop, missionary, and scholar; b. Santiago, July 10, 1800; d. La Serena, 1868. He entered the Recoleta Dominicana in 1816 and was ordained in 1822. In October 1824, apostolic vicar muzi granted him secularization. During 1828 to 1829 he visited the provinces of Aconcagua and Coquimbo where he did mission work and gave spiritual retreats. From 1829 to 1840, as pastor of Talca, he spent four months a year doing missionary work in the field. From 1840 to 1844 he was professor of theology at the seminary of Santiago, which he directed in 1843. In 1845 he took charge of the Diocese of Ancud and he was consecrated in 1849. He made his pastoral visitation, founded the seminary, and built the cathedral and several churches. In 1852 he went to the Diocese of La Serena where his work was similar to that in Ancud. In 1867 he was elected senator and minister of justice and education, a position he held for only a short time. In addition to being a man of action, he was a scholar and author of Instituciones de derecho canónico americano, Diccionario teológico-canónico, and Manual del párroco americano.
Bibliography: l. f. prieto del rÍo, Diccionario biográfico del clero secular de Chile (Santiago de Chile 1922) 189–191.
[a. m. escudero]