Apostolic Nunciature in Madrid and Relations between the Holy See and Spain in 1833-1835

Abstract

The article examines the relationship between Spain and the Holy See, as well as the functioning of the Apostolic Nunciature in Madrid between September 1833 - July 1835. An outline of previous research in this field is presented. The article also introduces into scientific use a number of documents from the Vatican Secret Archives, and offers a brief overview of the Holy See - Spain diplomatic relations in 1823-1833. In 1832 in Spain, the apostolic nuncio F. Tiberi was substituted by L. Amat. The new representative of the Holy See arrived in Madrid in September 1833, 17 days before the death of King Ferdinand VII. In October 1833 the First Carlist War started. Numerous representatives of the Spanish clergy supported the claim of the King’s brother, Prince (Infante) Don Carlos, to the throne. Nevertheless, the Holy See did not recognize neither the Princess Isabel neither Infante Don Carlos as legitimate claimants to the Spanish throne. For that reason, the Spanish government in Madrid did not recognize L. Amat as the nuncio. L. Amat stayed in Madrid until 1835. In the meantime, The Holy See State Secretary T. Bernetti and the nuncio L. Amat preferred to wait for the results of the conflict between the Carlists and the Isabelinos (the partisans of Don Carlos and Isabel, respectively). According to the nuncio’s letters to the State Secretary in 1833-1834, the Holy See’s representative did not consider Isabel’s victory an obvious one. The Pope’s reluctance to recognize Isabel as a Queen led to a breakdown of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Spain in 1835. The sup-pression of the Society of Jesus in Spain in August 1835 was the cause of both the breakdown and the nuncio’s departure from the country. The events of August 1835 enhanced the Spanish clergy’s support to the Don Carlos cause and encouraged J. A. Mendizabal’s anticlerical policy in 1835-1836.