page_title: Cristóbal Bencomo y Rodríguez
section_title: Creation of the University and the Diocese
hierarchical_section_title: Cristóbal Bencomo y Rodríguez / Biography / Creation of the University and the Diocese
caption_attribution_description: König Ferdinand übergibt dem Erzbischof Bencomo die päpstlichen Bullen zur Einrichtung des Bistums San Cristóbal de La Laguna.
context_page_description: Cristóbal Bencomo y Rodríguez was a Spanish Catholic priest and confessor of King Ferdinand VII of Spain.
  Bencomo was the driving force behind the creation of the University of La Laguna and the Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, leading to the separation of the western Canary Islands in this new bishopric. Known for his many royal and ecclesiastical titles, he was one of the most important figures of the Spanish Catholic Church. Among his major positions were member of the council and chamber of Castile, Grand Inquisitor of Spain, Grand Cross of the Order of Carlos III, and Titular Archbishop of Heraclea in partibus, given by Pope Pius VII.
context_section_description: Cristóbal Bencomo y Rodríguez was instrumental in creating the first university in the Canary Islands, the Literary University of San Fernando of San Cristóbal de La Laguna (University of La Laguna). This institution was created by royal charter in 1816.
  In addition, the impeller and went straight benefactor of the creation of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna. In 1818] in collaboration with the clergy and authorities in Tenerife calls for the creation of a new canary bishopric to the Holy See. The document requested it had the full support of King Fernando VII. It was a document called Instruction of the House of Castilla. On 1 February 1819, a papal bull approved the division of the bishopric of the Canary Islands in two dioceses. Finally, between February and December]1819 this diocese was created, since previously the Roman Catholic Diocese of Canarias was administering the entire archipelago. The Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna includes the islands of Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro.
  The historical significance of the creation of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna and the pivotal role Bencomo played are illustrated by the fact that attempts to establish a diocese based in the island of Tenerife dated back to the early sixteenth century, immediately after the completion of the conquest of the Canary Islands by the Crown of Castile. In fact, his first drive was Alonso Fernández de Lugo (conqueror of the islands of Tenerife and La Palma and "First Adelantado of the Canary Islands"). While the creation of the diocese would always be fiercely opposed by the then only bishop of the Canary Islands and members of the Cabildo Cathedral of Canary Islands, which were based on the island of Gran Canaria. So since then and for three centuries requests of clergy and society of Tenerife to erect the coveted bishopric. With cunning of Cristóbal Bencomo and invaluable support of his benefactor would succeed, King Ferdinand VII, would be achieved relatively quickly and simple erection of the diocese and the consequent Bencomo historical relationship with this church project.
caption: The King Ferdinand VII delivery to Cristóbal Bencomo the papal bull of creation of the Diocese. Engraving of Juan Abreu, ca. 1830.
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "2513", "Image ImageLength": "3415", "Image BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8]", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS5 Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2016:07:10 20:20:21", "Image ExifOffset": "232", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "382", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8591", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1373", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1372"}