6/18/2012

June 18: Lacunza en barranca

On June 18, 1801, the Jesuit priest Manuel Lacunza was found dead in a ditch near Bologna, where he had lived in exile since the 1767 expulsion of the Jesuits from the Spanish Empire (Lacunza was born, educated, and ordained in Chile). He had lived in reclusive study for years, and was presumed to have died of natural causes while on a walk.

Lacunza had completed a book titled The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty, which was widely printed in Spain, France, England, and Mexico after his death despite being placed on the Index of Prohibited Books. Lacunza's book claimed that Church corruption and apostasy would lead to the Second Coming.