CABALLERO Y OCIO, - A Stan Klos Biography
CABALLERO Y OCIO, Juan, Mexican
philanthropist, born in Queretaro in 1644; died 11 April, 1707. He studied
theology in the City of Mexico, was ordained priest, and filled several
important offices, both civil and ecclesiastical, but would not accept that of "adelantado"
of California and two bishoprics in Spain that were offered him by the king when
the fame of his extraordinary donations to the poor and for religious
institutions had reached the Spanish court.
He inherited an immense fortune, amounting to millions,
which he spent entirely in alms to the poor, in religious and benevolent
foundations, in building and furnishing churches, convents, Colleges, and
infirmaries, in finishing or improving many other buildings and institutions, in
endowments for over two hundred young girls, sixty poor priests, and many nuns,
in helping newly arrived foreigners, and in distributing useful articles to the
sick in the hospitals, he also built and endowed a church in Logroño, Spain, his
father's native City, and gave the Mexican Jesuits $150,000, church ornaments,
and everything they desired for their mission in California.
In 1699 Caballero finally distributed all that was left of
his property, keeping for himself nothing but a crucifix, and lived humbly for
the rest of his days, always refusing to accept public honors.
Edited Appletons Encyclopedia by John Looby, Copyright ©
2001 VirtualologyTM
CABALLERO Y OCIO, Juan, Mexican philanthropist, born in Querdtaro in 1644; died 11 April, 1707. He studied theology in the City of Mexico, was ordained priest, and filled several important offices, both civil and ecclesiastical, but would not accept that of "adelantado" of California and two bishoprics in Spain that were offered him by the king when the fame of his extraordinary donations to the poor and for religious institutions had reached the Spanish court. He inherited an immense fortune, amounting to millions, which he spent entirely in alms to the poor, in religious and benevolent foundations, in building and furnishing churches, convents, Colleges, and infirmaries, in finishing or improving many other buildings and institutions, in endowments for over two hundred young girls, sixty poor priests, and many nuns, in helping newly arrived foreigners, and in distributing useful articles to the sick in the hospitals, he also built and endowed a church in Logrono, Spain, his father's native City, and gave the Mexican Jesuits $150,000, church ornaments, and everything they desired for their mission in California. In 1699 Caballero finally distributed all that was left of his property, keeping for himself nothing but a crucifix, and lived humbly for the rest of his days, always refusing to accept public honors.
