The collectio maxima conciliorum omnium hispaniae et Novi Orbis by Cardinal José Saenz de Aguirre , OSB (1630-1699)

Abstract

José Sáenz de Aguirre OSB (1630-1699) was a learned Spanish author and professor
of various theological disciplines, especially in Salamanca, in the years 1668-1686.
His decisive defense of the prerogatives of the Apostolic See against the «Declaration of the clergy of France» containing the principles of Gallicanism (1682) in 1683 earned him the esteem of Pope Innocent XI. His great publication Collectio Maxima Conciliorum Omnium Hispaniae et Novo Orbis was meticulously prepared by him in the 1680s and, in addition to the evaluation of printed sources, was to include a great deal of archive material, as he indicated in a kind of project description, the Notitia (1686). However, the elevation to cardinal by Innocent XI and the associated move to Rome brought about a reduction of the ambitious project: instead of five planned volumes, only four appeared in 1693-1694, and Sáenz de Aguirre had to be largely satisfied with the use of material already printed. Nevertheless, the Collectio Maxima was received with great approval and recognition, and in 1753 Giuseppe Catalani published an extended new edition in six volumes.