Juan José Bonel y Orbe

Juan José Bonel y Orbe was a Spanish Catholic ecclesiastic, bishop, archbishop, and cardinal in various dioceses.

Career

Education

Born in the town of Pinos del Valle, Spain, in 1796 he went to Granada to study, where he took a law scholarship at the Royal College of San Bartolomé and Santiago, graduating at the age of twenty-two. He received his doctorate in Civil Law and Canon Law from the University of Granada, eventually becoming a professor of the latter subject.

Priest

On 21 December 1805, he was ordained a priest and assigned to the parish of San Pedro y San Pablo in Granada, where he remained until 1816 when he was appointed doctoral canon of Málaga and general vicar of the same diocese in 1827.

Bishop

In 1830, despite being designated as the new bishop of Ibiza, he ended up taking the same position in Málaga due to the death of the bishop of the Málaga diocese, assuming the post on 12 October 1831.
On 7 March 1834, he took possession of the bishopric of Córdoba.

Archbishop

Four years later, he was elected archbishop of Granada by the government of the Duke of Frías, but he was not confirmed by the Pope, so he continued as bishop of Córdoba until 1847 when he was appointed and confirmed as archbishop of Toledo.

Cardinal

In the Consistory of 1850, he was elevated to cardinal priest of Santa Maria della Pace by Pope Pius IX.

Senator

He was a senator for the Province of Almería and Province of Granada.

Other positions

In 1839, he was elected Patriarch of the West Indies and military vicar general for a period of eight years, positions he held concurrently with his pontificate in Córdoba.

Miscellaneous

He was the uncle of poet José de Espronceda and one of the founders of the Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country.

Death

With his health greatly deteriorated, he died in Madrid and his remains were buried in the Toledo Cathedral.