MALAFOSSA, GIACOMO. - Philosopher and theologian of the Conventual Franciscan Order (also called Giacomo and Giacomino Bargius), born in Barge (Cuneo) c. 1480, died there in 1563.
He was an "elegant and spiritual Scotist," as Bertoni defined him (v. BIBLICA). His participation in the Council of Trent, attested by various writers of the Order and not yet confirmed by official acts, remained perhaps marginal: he would have delivered or written a speech there; however, his Commentaria in I Sent. Scoti (Padova 1560) were consulted and appreciated; at the request of various conciliar fathers, in 1546 he published the Dissertatio an quis scire possit se esse in gratia Dei.
Other writings: Quaestio de subiecto metaphysicae (Padova 1553); Oratio... ad obtinendam remissionem omnium peccatorum... (ibid. 1562); he left unpublished an Expositio in metaphysicae Aristotelis (in Ferrara), the Commentaria in II, III et IV Sent. Scoti, and commentaries on the Pauline epistles.
Lorenzo Di Fonzo
The diocese has an area of 7,226 sq. km. with a population of 665,500 inhabitants, of whom 660,120 are Catholics. It has 193 parishes, served by 141 diocesan and 110 regular priests, a seminary, 22 male and 95 female religious communities (1949).
Setting aside the national legend which claims this diocese was founded by a disciple of the apostle St. James, its existence must be admitted by the end of the 3rd century, since a bishop of its own named Patrick was present at the Council of Elvira. A few bishops of Malaga are found in the early days of Saracen domination, but thereafter this church almost disappeared; however, in the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries there are some titular bishops. After M. was reconquered by King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella, who made their solemn entry into the city on August 19, 1487, the episcopal see was re-established there in the same year; the first residential bishop was Pietro Diaz de Toledo Ovalle, grand almoner of those sovereigns. The main mosque was adapted as the cathedral church, purified and consecrated with a solemn liturgical rite, until in 1528 the present building was constructed under Bishop Cesare Riario, successor to the same see from Card. Raffaele, his brother, both of them nephews of Pope Sixtus IV. Work was interrupted in 1785, so that it remains still unfinished; it is dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. The collegiate church of Antequera, founded in 1503 and suppressed in 1851, was re-established by Leo XIII; it possesses precious paintings by Murillo and an incalculable wealth of ancient vestments. In the Cathedral there are also paintings by Cano, Coello, Morales, and J. de Juanes, and notable statues, one by Merra. The diocese is dedicated to Our Lady of Victory. The patrons of the city are the martyrs Cyriacus and Paula.
Among the churches are Santa Maria de la Victoria, consecrated in 1518; Cristo de la Salud, formerly officiated by the Fathers of the Society of Jesus who are currently at St. Augustine; San Julián, annexed to the Charity Hospital, erected in 1669, with paintings by Guevara; San Pedro, erected as a parish in 1658, later passed to Our Lady of Mount Carmel; San José, built in 1545.
The Basilica is later than the earthquake of 365, while the tombs belong to the Visigothic period (6th-7th centuries).