Antonio Claudio Álvarez de Quiñones (1670s – 21 October 1736) was a Spanish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church in what is ÁlvarezdeQuiñnow the Dominican Republic and Colombia.
Born in Alcalá de Henares, he taught law before becoming vicar general of the Diocese of Sigüenza. He was appointed Archbishop of Santo Domingo in 1717, serving until 1725, when he was appointed Archbishop of Santafé en Nueva Granada (now the Archdiocese of Bogotá). Due to illness, he was unable to take control of the archdiocese until 1731, and he served as archbishop after that until his death in 1736.
Biography
Early life and education
Álvarez de Quiñones was born in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. His exact date of birth is disputed, with different sources placing the year at 1666, 1674, 1676, and 1687. However, Quiñones' Licentiate of Canon Law certificate is dated at 1700, and because most people at that time would have received that degree at age 26, 1674 is perhaps the closest estimate to his actual birth year.
Álvarez de Quiñones was the son of Antonio Quiñones and Catalina García. His father's ancestors came from Quintanilla, in the Diocese of León, and his paternal grandparents came from the villages of Santorcaz and Hontanar. His mother's ancestors were "old Christians," without any Jewish or Moorish ancestry, and none were "punished by the Holy Inquisition."
Álvarez de Quiñones attended the Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso in Alcalá de Henares, graduating on 5 June 1674 with a bachelor's degree and a Licentiate of Canon Law.
Priesthood
Following graduation, he obtained a chair of law at the college. He remained there teaching for several years, when he was invited by his uncle Francisco Álvarez de Quiñones, the canon priest of the Collegiate of Santa María del Mercado in Berlanga de Duero and the future Bishop of Sigüenza, invited him to come work with him. Álvarez de Quiñones accepted the offer, and became the Vicar General of the Diocese of Sigüenza.
Archbishop of Santo Domingo
In September 1711, Francisco del Rincón, the Archbishop of Santo Domingo, transferred to administer the Archdiocese of Caracas in what is now Venezuela, leaving the archdiocese without an archbishop. On 10 March 1712, by way of royal appointment, Álvarez de Quiñones was appointed diocesan administrator, arriving in November of that year. Finally, on 12 April 1717, Pope Clement XI appointed him Archbishop of Santo Domingo. He traveled to Havana, Cuba, in April 1718, for his episcopal consecration, which took place on 1 May 1718, with Bishop Jerónimo Nosti de Valdés, OS Bas., the Bishop of Santiago de Cuba, serving as consecrator. However, following his consecration, he was unable to immediately return to Santo Domingo because he was suffering from herpes.
As archbishop, one of Álvarez de Quiñones' notable policies was that of refusing to ordain . In 1723, he became outraged upon learning that his predecessor, Francisco del Rincón, had ordained pardos (triracial descendants of Europeans, Native Americans, and West Africans). He complained that some of the archdiocese's priests "have a good part of mulatto" and made the accusation that they had "hidden" that their "progenitors had been slaves, and descendants of blacks that were introduced into this island from Guinea." He then ordered that in the future, all priests should have the proper "quality and qualifications."
Archbishop of Bogotá
On 28 June 1723, the Archbishop of Santafé en Nueva Granada (now the Archdiocese of Bogotá), Francisco del Rincón, died of illness. On 29 January 1725, Álvarez de Quiñones was named his successor, with the appointment being communicated to him by Cardinal Francesco Acquaviva. His successor as Archbishop of Santo Domingo was Francisco Mendigaño Armendáriz, one of Álvarez de Quiñones' former classmates at San Ildefonso who was previously the archdeacon of the Bogotá Cathedral.