LORENZANA, FRANCISCO ANTONIO de. — Cardinal, b. at Leòn (Spain), 22 Sept. 1722, d. at Rome 17 Apr. 1804. He was elected bishop of Palencia in 1765, and the following year archbishop of Mexico, where he held the Fourth Provincial Council, publishing its acts in two volumes together with those of the preceding councils; he founded the hospital for foundlings which he generously endowed with revenues. He also arranged for the publication (1770) of a collection of letters and reports by Fernando Cortés.
Named in 1772 archbishop of Toledo and primate of Spain, he rendered great service to learning by founding the archiepiscopal library, publishing works on the Toledan Fathers and Mozarabic liturgies, editing the Gothic and Mozarabic Breviary, the collection of all the councils of Spain, as well as that of the writings of Martin León, the acts of the Council of Trent and the Roman Catechism. At Toledo he founded a house of charity, while at Ciudad Real he rebuilt the hospital and the church of the Fatebenefratelli. Pius VI created him cardinal in the consistory of 30 March 1789, assigning him the title of SS. XII Apostoli. Charles IV of Spain appointed him in 1797 legate to the Pope, and at the death of Pius VI, which occurred at Valence on the Rhône, he took a very active part in the decision to hold the conclave at Venice and generously assisted the cardinals with the expenses of the journey. Resigning the see of Toledo in 1800, he settled in Rome and was among the founders of the Accademia di religione cattolica.