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chapter three Reform by Other Means The Colegio de Corpus Christi On 24 October 1591, Juan de Ribera appeared before the civil court of Valencia declaring his desire to be established as a “son and resident” of the city, with all the prerogatives, privileges, and immunities enjoyed by natives of the realm under the kingdom’s laws. The archbishop presented several witnesses to attest to his residence in Valencia and to his many contributions to the city.1 The judges signed his petition , and with this act Ribera became an official vecino (legal resident) of the city he had inhabited for the preceding twenty-two years. This moment hardly symbolized Ribera’s entrance into the native oligarchy of the city, however. On the contrary, in the eyes of some town councilors, professors, and nobles, the archbishop remained an outsider for the duration of his tenure, a foreigner seeking to bring change where none was needed or desired. But in other ways Ribera’s act of 1591 did emblematize his evolving relationship with the city of Valencia. The concept of local identity in early modern Spain went beyond legal and political affiliations to encompass religious devotions and social networks.2 Like Carlo Borromeo in Milan, Ribera ultimately placed his stamp on his diocese to such an extent that it would be impossible to imagine early modern Valencia without him. Frustrated in his efforts to reform existing ecclesiastical institutions such as the university and the cathedral, Ribera decided in the early 1580s to create an urban religious center of his own design, where he could pursue the reform of the clergy and the enhancement of lay piety on terms more of his own choosing: the Colegio de Corpus Christi, a Tridentine seminary that also served as Ribera’s chapel, reliquary, museum, and mausoleum. He pursued the planning and construction of the Colegio over a period of twenty years, culminating in its official consecration in 1604. By virtue of having built the Colegio from the ground up, writing its constitutions and choosing its personnel, Ribera was able to avoid some of the challenges associated with reforming older institutions that had fallen into more relaxed standards over time. In its architectural character and its adornments, the Colegio reflected the archbishop’s inclusive tastes, which ranged from classical statuary to devotional artwork .3 Ribera sought to raise the profile of the Colegio by promoting the veneration of local holy figures, including people he had known in life and important saints from Valencia’s more distant past. Through his acquisition of artwork and relics and his promotion of Valencian holy people, Ribera converted the Colegio into an important center for lay piety and a monument to his vision of the reformed Christian community. The archbishop’s Castilian background and his program of reform often placed him at odds with the native sons of the city, but he did carve a niche for himself within that world, and the Colegio de Corpus Christi became a locus of urban reform in Valencia. Ribera’s experiences in Valencia warn against any interpretation of reform in which the role of the bishop is limited to implementing a preconceived set of norms upon a local populace and its existing institutions. The decrees of Trent provided bishops across Europe with a standard of reform, but the debate that characterized their creation was mirrored in the diverse means by which individual prelates pursued their implementation. In Valencia, Ribera recognized the vibrant religiosity of the people, who possessed a number of institutions, rituals, and organizations through which they could mark the passages of life, solicit divine assistance , and seek to understand their world. This religiosity—this spiritual marketplace —both formed the object of Ribera’s reforms and influenced the archbishop’s efforts to create a reformed community within this shared urban space. Ribera did not become one with the ruling elite of Valencia, but he did come to identify most strongly with the interests of his diocese. This loyalty, bred of his reciprocal relationships with the people of Valencia, demonstrates that the localizing aspect of the process of reform could affect both the laity and the clerics who ministered to them. ribera and the cathedral of valencia After his unsuccessful visitation to the university, Ribera turned to the reform of the cathedral. Through edicts, synods, and visitations, Ribera attempted to end longstanding abuses, but though he persisted for decades this project yielded only limited results. On paper, the...

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