Aguirre, José Sáenz de

AGUIRRE, José Sáenz de. - Benedictine theologian, b. at Logroño (Spain) in 1630, created cardinal by Innocent XI in 1686, d. at Rome in 1699.

The author, a professor of Sacred Scripture, dogmatic theology and moral theology at Salamanca, published works of theology and law, among them also a Defensio cathedrae Sancti Petri adversus declarationes cleri gallici (Salamanca 1683). But he is known above all for a collection of ecclesiastical laws relating to Spain and Latin America, which he titled pompously, in the style of the time: Collectio maxima conciliorum omnium Hispaniae et Novi Orbis, epistolarum, decretalium celebriorum, necnon plurium monumentorum veterum ad illam spectantium, cum notis et dissertationibus quibus sacri canones, historia ac disciplina ecclesiastica et chronologia accurate illustrantur. The collection had two editions: the first, in 4 folio vols., in 1693-94; the second, in 6 folio vols., in 1753-56.

As can be seen from the title, the collection gathers conciliar laws and other legislative documents, all accompanied by erudite historical and doctrinal dissertations. The collection is not without practical interest even today.

Agatangelo da Langasco