Ramón José de Arce

Ramón José de Arce was born in Selaya, Cantabria in 1757.[1] He was educated at the Colegio Mayor de Cuenca of the University of Salamanca.[1] After university he became an official in the Finance Ministry of the Real Junta de Juros.[1] He then became a member of the Council of Castile.[1]

He was appointed Archbishop of Burgos on December 18, 1797,[2] and was appointed Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition at the same time. He was consecrated as a bishop on March 4, 1798.[2] He was translated to the Archbishopric of Zaragoza on July 20, 1801.[2] He was appointed Patriarch of the West Indies on August 26, 1806.[2]

Spain was invaded by the First French Empire in 1808, becoming a client state of the French Empire. A series of sermons that Arce delivered during the occupation were widely believed to be pro-French.[3] As such, after Spain regained its independence during the Peninsular War in 1814, there was pressure on Arce to resign. He resigned his archbishopric and patriarchate on July 15, 1816.[4] He subsequently lived in exile in Paris, where he died on February 16, 1844.[3]

• Catholic Church in Spain