José María Cuenco

José María Cuenco D.D. (19 May 1885 – 8 October 1972) was Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church and was the first archbishop of the Archdiocese of Jaro in the Philippines.^[1]

The Most Reverend José María Diosomito Cuenco D.D.
Archbishop of Jaro
Church	Catholic
Archdiocese	Jaro
Appointed	24 November 1945[lower-alpha 1]
Term ended	8 October 1972
Predecessor	James Paul McCloskey
Successor	Jaime Lachica Sin
Other post(s)	Bishop of Jaro (1945‍–‍1951)
Previous post(s)	Titular bishop of Hemeria (1941–1945) Auxiliary bishop of Jaro (1941–1945) Vicar general of Cebu (1925)
Personal details
Born	José María Diosomito Cuenco 19 May 1885 (1885-05-19) Carmen, Cebu, Philippine Islands, Spanish Empire
Died	7 October 1972(1972-10-07) (aged 87) Iloilo City, Philippines
Buried	Metropolitan Cathedral of Jaro
Education	University of San Carlos Georgetown University
Motto	Quid Retribuam Domino (Latin for 'How Can I Repay the Lord')
Coat of arms
Ordination history
History Priestly ordination Ordained by Juan Bautista Gorordo Date 11 June 1914 Episcopal consecration Principal consecrator Guglielmo Piani Co-consecrators Cesar Maria Guerrero y Rodriguez, Mariano Aspiras Madriaga Date 27 December 1942
Episcopal succession Bishops consecrated by José Maria Diosomito Cuenco as principal consecrator Antonio Floro Frondosa 1952

Early life

Archbishop Cuenco was born on 19 May 1885 in Carmen, Cebu, Philippines.^{[lower-alpha 2]} He was the eldest child of Mariano Albao Cuenco and Remedios Diosomito. His father, a journalist and Clerk of Court, died in 1909. His mother largely raised Jose's 15 sisters and brothers, among them, Mariano Jesús and Miguel, who became a senator and congressman respectively. The Cuenco family were involved with printing and publishing as newspaper publishers and owners of Imprenta Rosario, one of Cebu's early print shops.

Education

Cuenco graduated from University of San Carlos in Cebu and Manila. He also graduated from Georgetown University in the United States,^[2][3] where he earned a doctorate in law.^[4][5] Cuenco decided to forsake a career in law to enter the priesthood. He was ordained a priest on 11 June 1914.

Career

It was as a churchman that Cuenco had a distinguished career. He was vicar general of the Cebu Diocese in 1925 and the founding parish priest of the city's Santo Rosario parish in 1933. He became titular bishop of Hemeria and auxiliary bishop of Jaro in 1941.^[6] Four years after, he succeeded James Paul McCloskey as Ordinary concurrent with the elevation of the see as a metropolitan, which effectively made him its first archbishop.^[7] In 1957 Cuenco received an honorary degree from Santa Clara University.^[8]

Works

Cuenco was the founder-editor of the Cebu Catholic newspaper El Boletin Catolico (1915–1930), continuing the work of his own father who was publisher-editor of the pioneering Catholic newspaper in Cebu, Ang Camatuoran (1902–1911).

He authored and published close to a dozen books, mostly narratives of his travels and experiences, including Archbishop Cuenco: Autobiography (Iloilo: La Editorial, 1972), which came out shortly before he died in Jaro on 8 October 1972.

Notes

1. Cuenco was originally not appointed as archbishop of Jaro, but rather as bishop, because, in 1945, Jaro was just a diocese. When, in 1951, the diocese was elevated by Pope Pius XII to an archdiocese, Cuenco was concomitantly appointed as archbishop. So, while he was the Ordinary of Jaro for the entire time from his appointment in 1945 until his death in 1972, that period is, technically, divided between his term as bishop (1945–1951) and as archbishop (1951–1972).
2. When Cuenco was born the Philippines was the Captaincy General of the Philippines of the Spanish Empire

References

1. "Jose Maria Cuenco". sea.lib.niu.edu. Southeast Asia Digital Library. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
2. "Class Notes 1905" (PDF). Georgetown University Alumni Magazine. Vol. 1, no. 4. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Alumni Association Inc. Fall 1948. p. 13. Most Rev. Jose Ma. Cuenco, Grad. '05 '07, is now serving as Bishop of Jaro at Iloilo City, Philippine Islands.
3. "Jeremiah F. Minihan '25 Consecrated Bishop" (PDF). Georgetown University Alumni Magazine. Vol. 7, no. 3. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Alumni Association Inc. September 1954. p. 7. Only one other alumnus now holds episcopal rank, the Most Reverend Jose M. Cuenco, '07, Archbishop of Jaro, Philippine Republic.
4. "Class Notes 1907" (PDF). Georgetown University Alumni Magazine. Vol. 10, no. 3. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Alumni Association Inc. September 1957. p. 12. The Class of 1907 of the Law School had two reunions in June to celebrate their golden jubilee. One was held at the University, the other in Manila where His Excellency, the Most Reverend Jose Ma. Cuenco, D.D., G '05, L '07, and Archbishop of Jaro, his classmate Hon. Delfín Jaranilla, L '07, Chief Justice of the Philippines were feted at the Philippine Columbian Association by a large company including the President of the Philippines, Hon. Carlos P. Garcia, and the Apostolic Nuncio, Most Reverend Egidio Vagnozzi.
5. Georgetown University Alumni Directory 1789–1912. Georgetown University. 1912 – via archive.org. Cuenco, Jose Maria, A.3L, '05; PhD, '07; LL.B., '07. Student, Seminario de San Carlos, Cebu, P. I.
6. Congregation for the Erection of Churches and Consistorial Provisions, Acts of the Sacred Congregations Acta Ss. Congregationum (1941), Acta Apostolicae Sedis 33 (1941), 513. S. Congregatio Consistorialis – Provisio Ecclesiarum (in Latin)
7. Congregation for the Erection of Churches and Consistorial Provisions, Acts of the Sacred Congregations Acta Ss. Congregationum (1945), Acta Apostolicae Sedis 37 (1945), 325. S. Congregatio Consistorialis – Provisio Ecclesiarum (in Latin)
8. "Class Notes 1905" (PDF). Georgetown University Alumni Magazine. Vol. 8, no. 3. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Alumni Association Inc. September 1955. p. 13. Archbishop Cuenco, who is Chairman of the Reunion of his Law School Class in 1957, recently received an Honorary degree from Santa Clara University.

External links

• Media related to José María Cuenco at Wikimedia Commons
• Historical Photograph of Jose Ma. Cuenco | Southeast Asia Digital Library
• "Archbishop José Maria Diosomito Cuenco". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney.

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Paul Justin Cawet	Titular Bishop of Hemeria 1941–1945	Succeeded by Alfredo Vicente Scherer
Preceded by James Paul McCloskey	Archbishop of Jaro 1945–1972	Succeeded by Jaime Lachica Sin