Historical and biographical review of some of the main figures of the Province of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine of the Order of Augustinian Recollects from its foundation to the present day.
He was born in Igea de Cornago, in the Spanish province of La Rioja. After joining the Order, he arrived in Manila in 1858 and was ordained as a priest the following year. He stood out for his oratorical skills and his mastery of Tagalog. In 1876, he returned to Spain as vicar provincial and procurator general.
In 1877, the Province entrusted him with the acquisition of the college seminary of San Millán de la Cogolla. On 1 September 1878, the religious community was established there, and Minguella was appointed its prior the following year.
Through his efforts, the nearby Monastery of Valvanera was rehabilitated, and the image of the Patroness of La Rioja was restored. Today, Valvanera is a property of cultural interest, and San Millán is a World Heritage Site.
Queen María Cristina of Habsburg-Lorraine recommended him for the bishopric of Puerto Rico, and Pope Leo XIII issued the pontifical bull of his appointment. On 5 August 1894, he was ordained as bishop in Marcilla.
His tenure on the Caribbean Island was brief. He returned to Spain in 1898, and the same queen proposed him as Bishop of Sigüenza in Guadalajara, which at that time had about 4,500 inhabitants.
For seventeen years, he promoted the presence of religious communities in his diocese, among them the Augustinian Recollects, who established a novitiate house of the newly erected Province of Saint Thomas of Villanueva in Berlanga de Duero, in the province of Soria, in 1909.
He is remembered in this diocese for his pastoral care, pastoral visits, and the publication of numerous letters and circulars. He left behind a cultural legacy with his Historia de la Diócesis de Sigüenza [History of the Diocese of Sigüenza] and its bishops in three volumes, a product of his research at the archive of the Cathedral of Sigüenza. He also published Santa Librada, virgen y mártir, patrona de Sigüenza. Estudio histórico [Saint Librada, Virgin and Martyr, Patroness of Sigüenza. A Historical Study].
On account of his designation as senator of the Kingdom of Spain for the Ecclesiastical Province of Santiago in Cuba (1896-1898) and later for that of Toledo in Spain (1899-1900), he mediated various social and political issues.
Minguella’s eyes and heart were not indifferent to the places he had travelled, nor to the love he felt for all things Recollect. Among other books, he authored the Biography of Bishop Ezekiel Moreno y Díaz, a selection of the Letters of Ezekiel Moreno in two small volumes, and a compendium of the life and virtues of Mother Mariana de San José, foundress of the Augustinian Recollect Contemplative Nuns. Additionally, he wrote works on San Millán and Valvanera. His Essay on Spanish-Tagalog Grammar showcased his skill as a philologist.
Msgr. Minguella experienced health problems in the twilight years of his life. Soon after his resignation was accepted, he retired to the convent in Marcilla. He passed away in Cintruénigo, Navarra, during his trip to Monteagudo, where his mortal remains now rest, very near the tomb of his esteemed Saint Ezekiel.
