Saint Anthony Mary Claret

IMPORTANT REMARKS

So that the reading, study and meditation of the Autobiography answers the needs of the reader and helps to guide him throughout, some prior notes are offered here to keep in mind.

1^st. As opposed to the previous editions of the Autobiography, that may have been lacking, this is presented not as a critical edition, but rather as an one that is fully faithful to the original text. For this reason, another patient and tedious task has been carried out in collating the Saint’s original manuscripts.

2^nd. The integral text of the work is offered, with the exception of some chapters for reasons that are indicated in their corresponding location.

3^rd. The only corrections that have been made had to do with mistakes in spelling – very frequent in that time, even among people with a high level of education – and in punctuation, also somewhat careless in that time.

4^th. At times, to complete or clarify incorrect phrases, we put some words or literal meanings in brackets. The words or phrases added subsequently in the margins by the Saint or by some of his closest friends (we believe by Fr. James Clotet or Don Carmelo Sala) are placed between parentheses.

5^th. The footnotes have been thoroughly revised, completed, and updated. They help us to accurately represent the historic facts and significant figures cited throughout the narration, and allow us to highlight the apostolic personality and as well as the intense life of Saint Anthony Mary Claret in his untiring work throughout more than over thirty years of apostolate. For the English edition, references to the English translations of cited works are added whenever possible.

6^th. In order to draw as near as possible to the biblical texts used by the Saint, the Spanish versions of the texts that we provide in the notes are taken, for the Old Testament, from Scío de San Miguel, Felipe, La Santa Biblia, traducida al español de la Vulgata latina (Librería Religiosa, Barcelona 1852 1853), 4 volumes; and, for the New Testament, from Torres Amat, Félix, La Sagrada Biblia nuevamente traducida de la Vulgata latina al español (Madrid 1832) volume V, 2^nd. Edition; except for the Gospel of Saint Matthew, which is quoted from to Claret’s version, El santo evangelio según San Mateo (Librería Religiosa, Barcelona 1856) 230 pp. For the English edition, we have placed in the notes the excellent translation of the Latin texts done by Fr. Daries and where necessary have used the Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition¹ for scripture quotes.

7^th. In the General Bibliography (Claret’s own works), the first edition of each work is indicated, and successively, where applicable, the last edition of the same published during the life of the Saint. In addition to a translation of the title, when available, the bibliographic reference for the English edition of the work is added.

8^th. When a work is cited and its author is not specified (and the word Anonymous or CMF is not placed there), it is understood that the authorship belongs to Claret.

9^th. The illustrations, photographs, etc., that appear in this work, are given to help to visualize the person of St. Anthony Mary Claret as well as the geographic and historical surroundings in which is lived out his life and mission.

Preliminaries

_____________________



Chronological Synthesis of

Claret’s Life and Works

The following chronological synthesis offers an overall vision of the life and works of St. Anthony Mary Claret, together with the most important events in Spain and in the world. From this point of view it will be easier to frame the autobiographic works that later were acquiring significant relevance. In drafting it we have omitted almost completely all interpretative judgment, limiting ourselves to consigning year-by- year, and, when it has been possible, day-by-day, the raw events that make-up the life of the saint.

This synthesis is based, summarizing and at times correcting, that which Fr. Ángel del Molino wrote for the first edition of this work. For the English edition, some changes and additions were made especially of those world events of particular relevance to Africa and Asia.

Although critically based, it does not have the finality of a rigorous review. Because of this, we do not cite the sources that endorse it. We only note here the principle studies that scientifically lay the foundations for each one of the outstanding events.

Bertrans, Pere. Petjades apostòliques del Beat P. Antoni Maria Claret en el Bisbat de Solsona (Barcelona 1934) 52 pp.

Claret, Anthony Mary. Autobiography (published in this work).

Fernández, Cristóbal. El Beato P. Antonio María Claret. Historia documentada de su vida y empresas. (Madrid 1946) 2 vols. 1,065 and 930 pp.

_______. El confesor de Isabel II y sus actividades en Madrid (Madrid 1964) 518 pp.

Fort i Cogul, Eufemià. El Beato Claret y el arzobispado de Tarragona (Tarra­gona 1949) 198 pp.

_______. Itinerari de Sant Antoni Maria Claret per Catalunya (Barcelona 1970) 62 pp.

Gasol, Josep María. Sant Antoni M. Claret i la ciutat de Manresa (Manresa 1970) 64 pp.

Gil, Vicente. Itinerario Claretiano (Pocrí 1987) 276 pp. – mimeograph copy.

Gutiérrez, Federico, San Antonio María Claret, apóstol de Canarias (Madrid 1969) 586 pp.

Husu, Francesco. Sant'Antonio Maria Claret (Roma 1950) 780 pp.

Sanz, Vicente. Huellas de Claret (Madrid 1997) 3ª ed., 170 pp. Translated by Jesús Vasquez under the title Traces of Claret (Quezon City, Philippines: Claretians Publications, 2001).

Serra Fitó, Juan. Dietari del Venerable Servent de Déu P. Antoni Maria Claret i Clará (Barcelona 1931) 76 pp.

YEAR	SPAIN	CLARET	WORLD
1801	War with Portugal		Unification of Great Britain and Ireland.
1802	Creation of the House of Charity of Barcelona. Prohibition of the importation of cotton fabric.		Peace of Amiens marked the end of the French Revolutionary War
1803	First mechanical spinning jenny using hydraulic energy in Rec Comtal.		Beethoven composes the Third Symphony (Heroic), inspired by Napoleon.
1804	Definitive suspension of colonial commerce. War with Great Britain		Proclamation of the Empire of Napoleon. Napoleon, emperor. Promulgation of the Napoleonic Civil Code. Haiti declares independence from France.
1805	Battle of Trafalgar (British victory)		Battle of Austerlitz (defeat of Austria)
1806			Beginning of the continental blockade (until 1870). Discourses to the German Nation by Fichte.
1807	Treaty of Fontainebleau. Napoleon orders the occupation of Spain. The musician Hilarión Eslava is born.	On December 23, Claret is born in Sallent (Barcelona). On December 25, he received the Sacrament of Baptism	Peace of Tilsit between Russia and France. Abolition of slave trade in the British Empire. Fulton’s steam ship. R. Morrison, first protestant missionary in China. Translated Bible into Chinese.
1808	French occupation. Revolt of Aranjuez Fall of Godoy. Abdications of Bayona. Joseph I (Bonaparte), King of Spain Constitution of Bayona. War of independence begins against the invasion of Napoleon. Local Councils and Supreme Council. Battle of Bailén. Beginning of the separatists movements of the American colonies.	The delicate health of his mother obliged her to seek-out a wet nurse.	Napoleon's France invades Spain and Portugal Great Britain and the United States abolish the slave trade in Africa. Birth of Napoleon III, future emperor of France
1809	Anti-French conspiracy in Barcelona. Siege and occupation of Gerona and Zaragoza.		First efforts towards independence in Bolivia. Austria revolts against Napoleon. Death of musician Joseph Haydn. British enact Hottentots’ Code in African colonies.
1810	Joseph I (Bonaparte) occupies Andalusia Beginning of the Court of Cádiz. The Supreme Court of Catalonia demands the restitution of the code of law. Governing bodies in America.		Establishment of provisional Juntas in Caracas (Venezuela) and in the provinces of Rio de la Plata (Argentina/Uruguay). Insurrection of Miguel Hidalgo in Dolores (Mexico). Simon Bolivar in Venezuela begins an independence war against Napoleonic Spain.
1811	Abolition of seigniorial rights by the courts. Sacking of Montserrat.	On a trip to the country, while the relatives were collecting firewood, Anthony is caught-up in a fire. He succeeds in putting it out and remains unscathed.	Independence of Venezuela and Paraguay. First Luddite worker revolts in the United Kingdom.
1812	Constitution of Cádiz, first Spanish constitution, of a unifying and liberal nature. Battle of Arapiles (near Salamanca). Annexation in fact of Catalonia to the French Empire.	Sleeps little. Thinks about the wretched eternity of sinners. “Always, always.” A very pious childhood.	Napoleon invades Russia. Franco-Russian war: war of Russian Liberation. The USA declares war against Great Britain. Great Britain limits working day for children to 12 hours. José de San Martín leads the insurrection in Argentina
1813	Battles of Victoria and San Marcial. Treaty of Valençay. Joseph I abandons Spain. Abolition of the Inquisition.	Attends the school of Don Antonio Pascual. Learns the catechism by memory. Leads the recitation of the rosary in church and in his father’s shop.	War of German liberation. Birth of philosopher Kierkegaard and musician Giuseppe Verdi.
1814	Armistice and evacuation of the French troops. Return of Fernando VII, who reins till 1833. Manifesto de los Persas and the return of absolutism. Coup d’état by absolutist. Period of absolutistic restoration. Reestablishment of the Inquisition.	Receives Confirmation in Sallent, at the hands of the titular Archbishop of Palmira, Don Félix Amat de Palou y Pont.	End of Napoleonic empire. Napoleon confined to the isle of Elba. Stephenson invents the steam engine. On December 24 in Ghent, Belgium, USA and England sign a “perpetual peace” agreement. Birth of Russian anarchist Mijail Bakunin.
1815	Spanish offensive in America, in an effort to recapture the colonies. Reestablishment of the guilds.		Return of Napoleon. Battle of Waterloo and exile of Napoleon. - Congress of Vienna, in which Pope Pius VII gives back almost all the papal territories. Holy Alliance. On April 10, the 13,000 foot Mount Tambora on Sumbawa Island, Indonesia erupts killing 50,000 islanders and shrouding the planet in debris. Birth of St. John Bosco on August 16.
1816	Reestablishment of Spanish power in Venezuela and New Granada.		Congress of Tucuman and the Independence of Argentina on July 9. Shaka Zulu becomes chief of the Zulu in Africa.
1817	Treaty with Great Britain. Victory of San Martín in Chacabuco (Spanish defeated in Chile). Slavery abolished. F. Cros creates in Barcelona a chemical products industry.	Receives First Communion. Great love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. A tender devotion to the Virgin. He makes frequent visits to the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Fusimanya with his sister Rose.
1818	Defeat of Spanish troops in the battle of Maipú, Chile.		On February 12, Chile attains independence from Spain. Birth of Karl Marx on May 5.
1819	The United States buys Florida. Queen Maria Luisa dies.	He begins to study Latin with Don Juan Riera. His father makes him an apprentice in the family business.	Simon Bolivar obtains the independence of Colombia. In England children less than 10 years of age are prohibited from working.
1820	Reigo military uprising in Cádiz. Liberal Triennium (till 1823). Return to the Constitution of 1812. Foundation of the Commission of Factories (Barcelona).		First wave of liberal revolutions in Europe. Liberal revolution in Portugal and Naples. Belgrano creates the flag of Argentina.
1821	First worker actions against machines in Alcoy, Alicante (destruction of textile mills).		San Martin enters Peru. Independence of Peru, Venezuela and the formation of the Great Columbia. Independence of Mexico. Iturbide proclaims himself the emperor of Mexico. Greek revolution.
1822	Creation of National Militia. Failed monarchical coup d’état. Sucre defeats the Spanish in Pichincha, Ecuador. First action of workers against the machines of Camprodón (Catalonia).		Congress of Verona. Independence of Ecuador. Brazil becomes independent. Birth of Louis Pasteur.
1823	Intervention of the Hundred Thousand Sons of St. Louis of France. End of Liberal Triennium. Return of the absolutist (till 1833) (Ominous Decade). The French army occupies Barcelona (till 1827).		Absolutist reaction in Portugal. Monroe Doctrine in the USA. Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras organize themselves into the United Provinces of Central America. Death of Jenner, inventor of the small pox vaccine.
1824			Proclamation in Mexico of the federal republic, after the dethronement of the emperor. Union legislation in Great Britain. Appearance of the first unions (Trade Unions). Histoire de la Revolution Française, by Michelet.
1825	Battle of Ayacucho (Peru). End of the Spanish domination in America (only Cuba, Puerto Rico and Philippines remain as colonies).	Travels to Barcelona to perfect himself in the textile arts. In La Lonja he studies drawing, grammar and French.	Independence of Alto Peru (Bolivia). Independence of almost all of Spanish and Portuguese America. G. Stephenson builds the world's first public railways.
1826	Publication of the Manifesto de los Realistas puros. Beginning of the policy of tariff protectionism: protective tariffs.		Congress of Panama. Failure of the Bolivar project to create a United South America. First railway in the United Kingdom.
1827	War of the Malcontents. Fernando VII visits Catalonia.	Is freed from the temptations of a bad woman by invoking the Virgin. Is cheated by an unfaithful friend.	First photograph of N. Niepce.
1828		A house collapses in Sallent during a dance. 28 people die. Anthony had been there just before it happened. He is saved from drowning at the beach of the Barceloneta of Barcelona. Crisis evoked by the question “Quid Prodest.”	Uruguay declares independence. Birth of Jules Vern on February 8. Hottentot Code abolished in Africa.
1829	Trade Laws.	He is admitted to the seminary in Vic. He lives in the house of Don Fortián Bres. He makes a general confession.	Pius VIII is elected Pope. Louis Braille creates a system of reading for the blind.
1830	Publication of the Pragmatic Sanction (allowing a female heir to the throne). Birth of Isabel II.	He decides to enter the Carthusians of Montealegre (Barcelona); but, a furious storm makes him change his mind.	Second wave of liberal revolution in Europe. Revolutions in France, Belgium and Poland. Independence of Greece and of Belgium. French occupation of Algeria. First passenger railway (Liverpool-Manchester). Creation of the National Association for the Protection of Labor in Great Britain. Showing of the dramatic work Hernani, a play by Victor Hugo. Beginning of the publication of the Course in Positive Philosophy by A. Comte. Gregory XVI is elected Pope. Death of Simon Bolivar.
			Period of 1831-1840
Year	SPAIN	CLARET	WORLD
1831		During his second year of Philosophy he suffers a great temptation against chastity. The apostolic vocation is awakened in him while reading the Bible and the lives of the Saints. He joins various confraternities in Vic. He strikes-up a friendship with Jaime Balmes.	The German philosopher Hegel dies. Faraday discovers electromagnetic induction. Notre-Dame de Paris, by Victor Hugo.
1832	Foundation in Barcelona of the Bonaplata factory (first steam factory in Spain). Prohibition of importation of foreign cotton. First blast furnace in Marbella.	Receives tonsure at the hands of the Bishop of Vic, Don Pablo de Jesús Corcuera, and takes possession of the benefice of Santa María de Sallent. Finishes the third year of Philosophy. Stands out in science and mathematics. Begins Theology.	British abolish slavery in West Indies S. Morse invents the electric telegraph.
1833	Death of King Fernando VII. Regency of María Cristina (till 1840). Start of the First Carlist War, confronting liberals and absolutists. Division of Spain into provinces. Cholera epidemic. First great wave of Catalan industry. Beginning of the Renaixença catalana.	Receives minor orders at the Church of St. Philip Neri in Vic.	Abolition of slavery in the United Kingdom.
1834	Royal Statute Freedom of industry. Definitive suppression of the guilds.	On May 24, he receives the subdiaconate at the same ordination in which Jaime Balmes is ordained Deacon. On December 20, Claret is ordained Deacon at the Church of the Presentation in Vic	Quadruple Alliance. End of Absolutism in Portugal. The Zollverein or German Customs Union formed among the majority of the German Confederation states.
1835	Progressive uprisings in the cities. Álvarez Mendizábal, head of government. Dissolution of religious orders (exclaustration). Popular uprising in Barcelona (burning of convents).	On June 13, in the episcopal palace, the Bishop of Solsona, Fray Juan José de Tejada, Mercedarian, ordains Claret to the Priesthood. On the June 21, in Sallent, he celebrates his first Mass. He is named paroquial vicar and then administrator of St. Mary’s Church in Sallent.	Birth of USA writer Mark Twain.
1836	La Granja revolt. Laws related to the sale of Church lands and severance of ties (until 1837). Mendizábal begins sale of Church goods. Establishment of the business Nueva Vulcano in Barceloneta. First steam ship.	Lives a life full of ministerial activity. He lived in the rectory with his sister Mary in Sallent.	J. Ericsson patents boat propeller. Texas declares its independence from Mexico.
1837	Progressive constitution. The Carlists reach the gates of Madrid. Moderates come to power. Definitive abolition of seigniorial rights and the tithe.		Beginning of the reign of Queen Victoria I in the United Kingdom (until 1901).
1838	Foundation of the most important textile businesses in Catalonia (until 1847).		People's Charter presented to the British House of Commons. United Provinces of Central Americas dissolved.
1839	Vergara Treaty. Beginning of a new progressive period (until 1843).	In September, he travels to Rome to offer himself to the “Propaganda Fide.” On October 2, he travels by boat from Marseilles to Civitavecchia. On October 6, he arrives in Rome. In November, he enters the novitiate of the Society of Jesus.	L. A. Blanqui, French political activist, calls utopian the contemporary social thinkers.
1840	End of the Carlist war in Catalonia. Law of Municipal Governments. Constitution in Barcelona of the Association of Weavers (first worker association). Espartero Government. Exile of Queen Maria Cristina. Creation of the first society of workers.	The Father General of the Jesuits advises him to return to Spain. On May 13, he is named regent of Viladrau. On August 15, he asked to be freed from his responsibilities to dedicate himself more freely to giving popular missions.	Explorations of D. Livingston in Equatorial Africa (until 1873). England produces the first postal stamp.
			Period of 1841-1850
1841	Regency of Espartero. Abolition of the Basque privileges. Beginning of the demolition of the Barcelona citadel. Economic free-trade measures. Movements for the free association and organization of workers. Birth of federal republicanism with Abdón Terradas.	On January 23, he moves to Vic to dedicate himself completely to preaching. On July 9, he receives from Rome the title of Apostolic Missionary.	.
1842	Uprising of Barcelona against Espartero and the bombing of the city. Abdón Terradas proclaims the Republic in Figueras. Foundation of the Catalan society for gas lighting.	Adverse political circumstances prevent him from preaching. In June, he is named vicar of San Juan de Oló.	France begins the conquest of Algeria. Treaty of Nanking, ending first opium war in China.
1843	Anti-Espartero uprising. Isabel II is declared to be an adult, rules (till 1868).	The political situation eases. On March 1, he begins his intensive missionary activity in Catalonia. Publishes The Straight Path.	March 21, date of the end of the world, erroneously set by American preacher William Miller.
1844	Beginning of the Moderate Decade (till 1854). Creation of the Civil Guard. Creation of the Bank of Isabel II. Prohibition of workers’ societies.	Preaches the month of May in Santa María del Mar, in Barcelona. A great crowd is moved to hear him. His missionary campaign continues with great conversions.	The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti. Birth of Friedrich Nietzsche. Treaty of Wanghia establishing diplomatic relations between the US and China.
1845	Moderate Constitution. Reform of state finances. Publication of El Criterio by J. Balmes	Missionary activity continues. He establishes in Mataró the “The Spiritual Society of Mary Most Holy against Blasphemy.”	Annexation of the Texas territory into the United States.
1846	Second Carlist war: war of the Martiners (till 1849): carlist and federal republicans against liberal unionists.	In Tarragona gets to know Don José Caixal. With him he establishes the Brotherhood of Good Books. In May he preaches the famous mission in Lérida. In this mission the people begin to calling him “Father Claret.” Campaign of defamation begins.	The planet Uranus is discovered. Mexican–American War, annexation of California to the US. Pius IX is elected Pope. His pontificate lasts until 1878. Polish author, Henryk Sienkiewicz, is born, winner of the Nobel prize for literature 1905.
1847	Fusion of the Bank of San Fernando with that of Isabel II. Assembly of factories of Catalonia.	He founds the Librería Religiosa with Don José Caixal and Don Antonio Palau. In March, he retires to Vic. In August, he founds in Vic the Archconfraternity of the Heart of Mary.	Independence of Liberia.
1848	Dictatorship of Narváez. Republican and progressive political parties. The first railroad in Spain between Barcelona and Mataró.	On March 6, he embarks for the Canary Islands from Cádiz. On March 11, he arrives in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and on the 14^th he arrives in a Las Palmas and preaches missions throughout the Grand Canary Island. He becomes known as “El Padrito.”	Third wave of liberal European revolutions. Parliament of Frankfort. Italian war of Independence. California gold rush. Communist Manifesto of K. Marx and F. Engels. Declaration of Seneca Falls. USA-Mexico war ends, the USA acquires almost half of Mexico's territory (New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and California)
1849	End of the War of the Martiners.	On July 16, in a cell at the seminary in Vic, he establishes the Congregation. On August 11, he receives his nomination as Archbishop of Santiago, Cuba and on October 4, he accepts the nomination.	Independence of Hungary.
1850		He is dedicated to missionary preaching while awaiting his episcopal consecration, which takes place in Vic on October 6. He is ordained by the bishop, Luciano Casadevall. On December 28 he embarks in Barcelona for Cuba.	Growth of suffrage movement (until 1900). Death of General José de San Martín, Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Perú, and of José Gervasio Artigas, hero of the independence of Uruguay.
			Period of 1851-1860
1851	Concordat with the Holy See. Madrid-Aranjuez Railroad.	On February 16, he arrives at Santiago, Cuba. On March 3, he visits the shrine of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre. On April 2, he begins the diocesan pastoral visitation.	Napoleon III staged a coup d'état and seized dictatorial powers of France. First World Exposition in London. First performance of Rigoletto by G. Verdi
1852	Foundation in Cuba of the A. Lopez and Company shipping company.	In October there is a great cholera epidemic. Almost 3,000 victims in three months. Claret visits hospitals, confesses, counsels, distributes alms.
1853		Claret continues untiringly his pastoral activity in Cuba.	Crimean War (until 1856).
1854	Uprising of progressives in Barcelona. Barcelona-Granollers Railroad. Military uprising in Vicálvaro. Popular revolt in Barcelona (July). Manifest of the Manzanares. Fall of the moderates. Beginning of the Biennial of the Progressives (till 1856). Economic expansion. Reorganization of worker movement (till 1856).	On February 15, he establishes savings banks.	Pope Pius IX proclaims the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. Births of playwright Oscar Wilde. Death of philosopher Fichte.
1855	Law of Civil Desamortization of Pascual Madoz. Bank laws. Railroad laws. Blast furnace in Vizcaya. First national telegraph network in Spain. First general strike in Catalonia.	On January 8, he begins the Agricultural Farm of Puerto Príncipe. On July 12, he finishes a letter about the Immaculate Conception. On August 25, he issues the decree of the foundation of the Claretian Missionary Sisters.	Bessemer converter for making steel. Foundation of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). Alexander II named czar of Russia.
1856	Fall of Espartero. Beginning of a new era of a moderate government (until 1868).The Bank of San Fernando becomes the Bank of Spain. Bank laws. Worker organizations return to clandestine existence.	On February 1, he suffers an attempted assassination in Holguín. On the 23^rd he writes to the Pope putting his miter at his disposition. Pius IX suggests that he continue in the archdiocese.	Birth of Sigmund Freud.
1857	First modern census of the population: 15 million inhabitants. Revolts caused by the subsistence crisis. Moyan law regulates education. First Fontaine turbine to use the energy of water.	On March 18, he receives a letter from Queen Isabel II asking him to return to Madrid. On April 12, he leaves the island of Cuba. On May 18, he enters the port of Cádiz, Spain. On May 26, he arrives in Madrid. Is interviewed by Queen Isa­bel II, who has chosen him as her Confessor. On June 5, the official nomination arrives. In the fall, he gives various spiritual exercises in Madrid.	March 9, death of St. Dominic Savio. First India struggle for independence repressed by the British.
1858	First government of the Liberal Union. The “Railroad Company of Northern Spain” is organized for the construction of the Madrid-Irún line.	In May, he travels with the Queen to Levante; in July and August to Castile, León, Asturias y Galicia. On September 19, the Queen names him president of the royal monastery the Escorial. On November 1, he establishes the Academy of St. Michael.	Birth of Theodore Roosevelt. India comes under direct rule of the British crown. Birth of G. Puccini.
1859	War against Morocco for having destroyed their fortifications in Ceuta. Mining Law. Approval of the Cerdà Plan for the extension of Barcelona. First immersion of the submarine Ictineo.	In May, he travels with the King and Queen to Catalonia and Valencia. On May 28, he presides at the First General Chapter of the Congregation. On July 11, he moves with the King and Queen to their summer residence in La Granja (Segovia).	Austria-Italian war. First oil well in Pennsylvania, USA. Publication of Origin of Species, by C.R.Darwin. On April 25, Suez Canal construction begins. Civil war between the Buenos Aires and the federal government.
1860	Peace treaty signed between Spain and Morocco. Birth of musician Isaac Albéniz. Failure of the Carlist’ military uprising at San Carlos de la Rápita.	In June, he finishes The Well-instructed collegian or Seminarian. On July 13, he is recommended to be Archbishop of Trajanópolis. In September, he travels with the King and Queen to the islands of Baleares, Catalonia and Aragón.	Abraham Lincoln, 16^th president of the USA. J.H.Speke and J.A. Grant discover the source of the Nile. Death of German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer. Peking convention ending second opium war in China.
			Period of 1861-1870
1861	Expedition to Mexico. Expansion of the railway network (until 1867). Railroad from Barcelona to Zaragoza passing through Lérida. Fifteen thousand Catalan workers ask the Cortes freedom of association. Foundation in Barcelona of the Cultural Association of the Worker Class.	In July, he travels with the royal family: Valladolid, Palencia and Santander. On August 26, he receives an important mystical grace of the sacramental species in the Church of the Rosary, in La Granja.	Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy (Italian Unification). Víctor Manuel II, King of United Italy. Civil war (1861-64) in the United States. Abolition of servitude in Russia. Production of soda (E. Solvay). Birth of Rabindranath Tagore, Indian Nobel prize writer.
1862	Notary Law. First Spanish sewing machines. Railroad from Barcelona to Gerona.	From January to May, he is dedicated, by obedience, to write the Autobiography, begun in the final months of the previous year. From July 7-14, he presides over the second General Chapter of the Congregation of Missionaries in Gracia (Barcelona). In September-October, he travels with the Queen to Andalucía. Continuous activity.	Bismarck, chancellor of Prussia. War in Mexico. Dungan revolt of Muslim ethnic groups in China.
1863	England, France and Spain designate Maximilian I emperor of Mexico.	Established the “Congregation of Catholic Mothers.”	Abolition of slavery in the United States. Construction of the metropolitan railway system in London (6km). Foundation of the Red Cross (in Switzerland).
1864	Railway from Madrid to Irún. Birth of Miguel de Unamuno.	In July, he presides at the third General Chapter of the Congregation, in Gracia (Barcelona). Throughout the year he is slandered and persecuted by the secular press.	Creation of the First International (AIT-International Working Men’s Association) in London. End of the war of Prussia and Austria against Denmark (Peace of Vienna). France crowns the archduke Maximilian of Austria emperor of Mexico.
1865	Military uprising of General Prim. Spain abandons Santo Domingo.	On July 15, Isabel II recognizes the Kingdom of Italy. On July 20, he leaves Madrid for Catalonia. November 7 and 23, he is received by Pius IX, who is informed about Spain. On December 1, he arrives in Barcelona and on the 22^nd by order of the papal Nuncio he returns to Madrid to continue his post as confessor to Queen Isabel II.	G.J. Mendel publishes his work on inheritance, first step of genetics (laws about genetic inheritance). End of the US Civil War. Abraham Lincoln assassinated.
1866	San Gil barracks events. Ostende Accord to expel the Bourbon Monarchy. Economic and financial crisis.	In August, he travels with the queen to the Basque country. In December he travels to Portugal. Preaches in Ciudad Real, Mérida, Badajoz and Lisbon.	War between Austria and Prussia. Italy occupies Venice. First successful transatlantic telegraph cable between Europe and America. A. Nobel invents dynamite.
1867	Railway between Barcelona and Valencia via Tarragona. Birth of musician Enrique Granados.	On May 14, he travels to Extremadura and in June to Burgos. In October God reveals to him about the amount time left in his life: “two years and ten months.”	British electoral reform. Dual Monarchy Austria-Hungry. Canada is declares independence from the United Kingdom. Karl Marx publishes the first volume of his work Das Kapital. USA buys Alaska from Russia.
1868	Military uprising of Admiral Juan Bautista Topete in Cádiz. September revolution that suppresses the Bourbon Monarchy (fall of Isabel II). Beginning of the democratic period of the Sexennium Revolution (until 1874). Beginning of the first Cuban war (the ten years war). The peseta, new Spanish monetary unit begun. Freedom of association.	On May 31, he submits his resignation as president of the Escorial, which Isabel II accepts on June 22. In August he travels with the King and Queen to San Sebastián. On September 30, the Queen is exiled to France. Fr. Claret accompanies her. He resides in Pau (France). On November 6, he arrives in Paris. Resides in the school of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Bourg.	End of the shogunate and triumph of the Meiji revolution in Japan. Discovery of prehistoric human remains, Cro-Magnon man. Patent of the typewriter (C.L. Scholes). Yangzhou riot-revolt against missionary presence in China.
1869	New constitution, democratic, monarchic based on national sovereignty. Serrano, regent, and Prim head of government. Establishment of an agency for the Fomentation of National Production Creation of nuclei of the International (International Working Men’s Association) in Spain. Catalan federal republicans propose a return to the Catalan-Aragon confederation under a republican state with a federal character. Protectionist campaigns. Establishment of the union: Las Clases de Vapor.	In Paris he lives a poor and simple life. March 30, he decides to separate himself from the court. Leaves Paris for Rome. On April 2, he arrives in Rome. Is put up at the rectory of the Mercedarians of San Adrián, at the Roman Forum. On April 24, Pius IX receives him. In Rome he is dedicated to prayer, study, writing, visiting hospitals, preaching. The book L’egoismo vinto (Selfishness conquered) is published in Italian. On December 8, he attends the opening of the First Vatican Council.	Suez Canal inaugurated in Egypt. On December 8 First Vatican Council begins. Mendeleiev’s Periodic Table of the Elements. First successful electric motor in industry (Z. Gramme). Birth of Mohandas Gandhi.
1870	Strong growth in organized worker movements. First Congress of Spanish Workers, with the framework of the International, in Barcelona (Worker Congress of the Spanish Regional Federation of the International Workers Association). The thesis of Mijail Bakunin is adopted. Revolt against the obligation to serve in the military. Assassination of Juan Prim. Queen Isabel abdicates from the Spanish throne. Amadeo de Saboya, King (parliamentary monarchy) Death of Gustao Adolfo Bécquer.	He continues his participation in the Council. On May 31, he delivers a moving address in defense of infallibility. On July 23, the Council is interrupted. He arrives in Prades (France). On August 6, he finds refuge in the Cistercian monastery of Fontfroide, near Narbonne, where he dies on October 24, at 8:45 a.m. He was 62 years and 10 months. His funeral was celebrated with simplicity on October 27. His body was placed in a tomb in the monastery cemetery. On a simple memorial tablet were engraved these words of St. Gregory VII: “I loved justice and hated iniquity; for this I die in exile.”	Franco-Prussian War. Proclamation of the III French Republic. Italy occupies Rome. Disappearance of the Papal States. Principles of Psychology by H. Spencer. Death of C. Dickens. Tianjin Massacre, attack on Catholic institutions in China.