VICO
406
VICO
at the provincial Council of Tarragona and Gerona.
Aquilinus (589-99) attended the third Council of
Toledo; Esteban, the fourth and one at Egara; Dom-
ninus, the sixth of Toledo; Guericus, the eighth;
Wisefredus sent his vicar to the thirteenth, and at-
tended in person the fifteenth and sixteenth. With
this bishop ends the history of the Church of Ausona
before the Saracen invasion. The reeonquest of Violi
was begun in the time of Louis the Pious, who confided
the civil government to Borrell, Count of Ausona, all
ecclesiastical matters being under the direction of the
Archbishop of Narbonne. In 826 Vich fell once more
into the hands of the Moors and was finally recon-
quered by Wifred the Hairy, independent Count of
Barcelona.
Wifred dedicated to the Blessed Virgin the famous monastery of RipoU, which was already in existence in 888, and obtained from the Arclibishop of Nar- bonne the consecration of Godmarus as Bishop of Vich. The bishops and the family of Moncada dis- puted the right of sovereignty over the city until 131.5, when the Bishop Berenguer Gaguardia ceded his rights to the king, James II, who also purchased the rights of the Moncadas. It is disputed whether the Church of San Pedro Ap6stol or S. Maria la Rotonda was the first cathedral church. For cen- turies the bishops celebrated the first Christmas Mass in this church and the third in that of San Pedro. The very ancient Chm-ch of S. Maria was rebuilt from the foundations by Canon Guillermo Bonfil in 1140, and consecrated forty years later by Bishop Pedro Retorta. In 1787 it was demohshed to make room for the new cathedral. Bishop Jorge (915-38) reconsecrated the Church of RipoU and also conse- crated that of S. Maria de Manresa. Bishop Atton (960-72) is worthy of mention as a great promoter of studies. Many persons availed themselves of the advantages offered by his reforms, among them Gerbert, the monk of Orleans, afterwards Pope Syl- vester II, who was distinguished for his learning. Another of the most illustrious bishops of Vich was OUva (1018— i6), son of the Count of Besahi, and Abbot of RipoU where he reconstructed and richly decorated the church. The dedication took place 15 January, 1032. He also, with the help of Erme- sinda. Countess of Barcelona, reconstructed the cathe- dral and dedicated it to Sts. Peter and Paul on 31 August, 1038. In the time of his successor GuiUermo I the relics of its patron saints, the martyrs Lucianus and Marcianus, were found at Vich, and a council was held for the restoration of peace among the faith- ful. Berenguer Seniofredo reformed the chapter, expelhng lax members and introducing regular observance. Berenguer obtained for himself the dignity of Archbishop of Tarragona, which was con- tested by the Bishop of Narbonne. Among (he Spanish bishops who attended the Council of Trent was Acisclo Moya de Contreras, Bishop of Vich, who was accompanied by the theologian Pedro IMercado.
Of the more recent bishops, ,Tose Morgades y C'.ili deserves special mention. He restored the monastery of RipoU, destroj'ed and pillaged by the revolutionists, and reconsecrated its church on 1 July, 1893. He also e.stabhshed at Vich an archa't)logical inu.seuni where he collected ni.'Uiy t reasures of medieval art which had been dispersed among tlu^ ancient churches of the dio- cese. The present Bisliop of Vich is Jos6 Torras y Bages, a man of great culture and learning. The greatest glory of Vich in modern times is Jaime Rahnes, the foremost Spanish philosopher of the nine- teenth century, whose remains are interred in the cloister of the cathedral. His first centenary was celebrated at Vich by a Catholic Congress. The original cathedral, which had but a single nave, thick walls, and few windows, was replaced liy that built by Bishop Oliva. As early as the thirteenth century Bishop Raimundo de Anglesola wrote a pastoral let-
ter exhorting his people to contribute towards repair-
ing the cathedral. In 1401 Bishop Diego de Heredia
added a transept, and in 1585 the door of San Juan
was added, but the necessity of a complete recon-
struction was soon recognized, and towards the end of
the eighteenth century the building was torn down,
and the corner stone of the new one was laid on 24
September, 1781. It was consecrated on 15 Septem-
ber, 1803. It is classic in design, a combination of
Doric and Tuscan, with a fagade of white stone en-
riched with a beautiful balustrade. It has three en-
trances, corresponding to the three naves, and colossal
statues of its six patrons. The interior is Corinthian.
All the monuments and altars were destroyed when
the old church was demolished, except the high altar
which is of alabaster, in the Gothic style, and was
given early in the fifteenth century by D. Bernardo
Despujol. Among the chapels that of S. Bernardo
Calvo (1233-43), who assisted Jaime I in the conquest
of Valencia, deserves special mention. The two-
storied Gothic cloister is exceedingly beautiful. A
handsome Gothic doorway leading to the chapter
house has been preserved.
The conciUar seminary was begun in 1635 by Gas- par Gil and was finally finished, by command of Bene- dict XIV, by Manuel Munoz in 1748. The present seminary is located in the former Jesuit College. It has sent out many famous men, among them Balmes and the poet Mosi^n Jacinto Verdaguer, author of " La Atlantida". The episcopal palace was destroyed in the wars of 1640 and rebuilt by degrees, being com^ pleted by Bishop Veyan. The archaeological museum is in this building. The LTniversity of Vich never at- tained to any great importance; it is not known when or by whom it was founded. PhiUip III granted it the privilege of conferring degrees, but only in phi- losophy and the arts (1599). PhiUip V, in the Cortes of Barcelona (1702), granted it the power to confer degrees in theology and other higher sciences. Man- resa, where St. Ignatius Loyola WTote his Spiritual Exercises, is situated in the Diocese of Vich. His memory is venerated in the Santa Cueva, which has been converted into a church, and a magnificent col- lege of the Jesuits built near it. Among the cele- brated natives of Vich should be mentioned the Trini- tarian St. Miguel de los Santos and Padre Claret, confessor of Isabella II and founder of the Congrega- tion of the Missionaries of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
PiFFERRER, Esp„ siis monuTTientos y artes: CatahiHa, II (Barce- lona. 1884): Florez, Esp. Sagrada, XXVIII (Madrid, 1774); de i.i FuENTE, Hisl. de las universidades de Esp., II (Madrid 1885); Idem, flist. erles. de £^sp.; (Barcelona, 1855); Fl6rez. Arq.iiz, Moncada \'evan', Episcopologios.
Ramon Ruiz Amado.
Vico, Francescoe, de, astronomer, b. at Macerata, States of the Church, 19 May, 1805; d. at London, England, 15 Nov., 1848. Entering the Society of Jesus at San Andrea, Rome, and showing peculiar aptitude for mathematics and astronomy, he was ,ap]M)inted professor of these branches at the Roman College an<l assistant to the director of the observa- tory, Father Dumouchcl, whom he succeeded as (lircctor in is:j9. Under his direction the observa- tory acquired a Eurojiean reputation, and his labours in astronomy made him famous. Science owes to him many inijiortant discoveries. ITnwearied in activity, he held corresiiondence with the most celebrated a.stronomers, and was a frequent contribu- tor to scientific piihlications. He was a charter member of the Italian Society of Science, and was elected to membership in many scientific socii>ties at home and abroad. He received the Lalande prii^es of the French academy, and six times won the gold medal otTered by the King of Denmark to the first discoverer of a telescopic comet. One of these medals is in the museum at Georgetown University, U. S. A.
