Merinero, Juan de

MERINERO, JUAN de. - Franciscan theologian, b. in Madrid in 1600 and d. in the odour of sanctity in 1663. He entered the Order at the age of 16; he taught theology in the Convent of St. Diego at Alcalá; he was guardian of the Convent of Madrid and provincial minister of Castile; on 11 June 1639 he was elected minister general.

His work for the Order was beneficial, favoured in this by Urban VIII and Innocent XI. He had new statutes prepared for the Cismontane family, which were promulgated in 1642 (Statuta, constitutiones et decreta generalia familiae cismontanae Ord. S. Francisci de Obser., Rome 1642); he promoted the missions, especially those of America and of the Holy Land. Under him the Order was in full vitality and received new impetus from the movement of the stricter observance, known as the "reform." In 1645 at Toledo G. Mazzara of Naples was elected as his successor. On the proposal of Philip IV, he was appointed bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo and shortly afterwards of Valladolid (1645-63). M., regarded as one of the best Spanish scholastics and an excellent Scotist, left: Commentaria in Aristotelis dialecticam iuxta I. Duns Scoti mentem (Alcalá 1629); Cursus integer philosophiae iuxta I. Duns Scoti mentem (Madrid 1659); the posthumous Cursus theologicus iuxta mentem Doctoris Subtilis (ibid. 1668). During his generalate he wrote: De reformatione Ordinis seraphici (ibid. 1641) and Commentaria in Regulam S. Clarae (ibid. 1642). Of interest for the history of Mariology is the Tractatus de conceptione Deiparae Virginis seu de huius articuli de finibilitate (Valladolid 1652).

Gaudencio Melani