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 ORIOL

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ORKNEYS

eresquo. The preat chapel, of boautifu! opval work, W!is (lomolisheii in IS'27 to cnlargo the enclosure. The grille of the choir aiui the high altar have been consid- ered the hnest in the kingdom (\'iciaua) : they are Re- naissance of the sixteenth century. The vast episcopal Ealacc, separated from tlie cathedral by a street, was uilt in 1733 by Bishop Jose Flores Osirio, on the left bank of the Kiver .Segura. It contains a magnificent staircase. The principal churches are Sta Justa y Rufina and the Ap6stol Santiago (St. James the .Apos- tle), both restored Gothic. The former is said to have been a parish church in the time of the Goths, but it was reconstructed between 1319 and 1348. That of Santiago is a fine Gothic structure, and bears the de- vice of the Catholic Sovereigns: Tanto Mcnt.*; and the arms of Charles V. The great chapel was built be- tween 1554 and 1609, and the tabernacle, of rare mar- bles, is eighteenth-century work.

Orihuela hatl many monasteries and convents — Augustinian, Franciscan, Carmelite, Mercedarian, Dominican, Trinitarian, Alcantarine, Capuchin, and of the Hospitallers of St. John of God. Those of the Franciscans and the Capuchins are still extant, as also of the Salesian and Augustinian Sisters and the Claris- sas. But the principal edifice of Orihuela is that of its university, otherwise called the Patriarchal College of Preachers, founded by the prelate Fernando de Loa- ces, a native of Orihuela, who spent 80,000 ducats ($800,000) on it and gave it to the Dominicans. At first this institution was occupied only with ecclesias- tical studies, for members of the order, but it after- wards obtained faculties for the conferring of scien- tific degrees, with privileges equal to those of the most celebrated universities, and the titles of Illustrious, Royal, and Pontifical (1640). It was suppressed in 1824. The building, having been declared an histori- cal monument, was given to the Jesuits, who now carrj' on in it a college and boarding-school. In the same building the public archives and library are housed, the latter consisting largely of books taken from the suppressed convents. The sarcophagus of the founder is in the chancel of the magnificent church. A statue of St. Thomas stands above the principal door, and above it a colossal Minerva.

By the Concordat of 1851, the See of Orihuela is to be transferred to Alicante, a city with two excellent churches: that of S. Nicolds and the older church of Sta. Maria, formerly a mosque. It was destroyed by fire and entirely rebuilt in the ogival style. The col- legiate church founded by Alfonso X, the Wise, was made a collegiate church by Clement VIII ( 1600), and, by the terms of the Concordat, is destined to be the cathedral of Alicante. Also celebrated is the sanctu- ary of the Holy Face at Alicante, originally occupied by Hieronymites, but now by the Poor Clares. The Unen cloth bearing the imprint of the Holy Face was brought from Rome by Mosson Mena of Alicante and is an object of great veneration in that part of the country. Elcha, famous for its palm-trees, has a note- worthy church dedicated to the Assumption, on which feast it still holds a dramatic representation of medie- val character. Orihuela has a hospital, a Casa de Mis- ericordia for the poor and orphans (1734), and a found- ling asylum founded by Charles III in 1764.

RuriNO Gea, PdtjinaK de la Historia de Orihuela: El pleito del obispado de UiSS-ir,!!.', (Orihuela, 1900); MolU, CrOnica del obis- paiio de Orihuela (Alicante. 1900); Llorente. Espana, sus monu- menlos u arles: Valencia, 11 (Barcelona. 1889); DE LA Fdente, Historia de las Unirersidades de Eapafia (Madrid, 1885); Idem, Historia eclcsidstica de Espafia (Barcelona, 1855).

Ram6n Ruiz Amado.

Oriol, Joseph, Saint, priest, "Thaumaturgus of Barcelona", b. at Barcelona, 23 November, 16.50; d. there, 23 March, 1702. He studied in the University of Barcelona, rccei\'ing the degree of Doctor of The- ology, 1 August, 1674. Ordained priest, 30 May, 1676, he visited Rome in 1686 and was granted a

benefice in the church of Nuestra Sefiora del Pino, in Barcelona. His priestly life was remarkable for a spirit of penance, profound humility, and prudence in directing souls. Impelled by a desire of martyr- dom, he went to Rome in April, IdOS, to offer liiin.self for the foreign missions, but, falling sick at Marseilles, he returned to Barcelona. Goil bestowed upon him prophetic :ind miraculous power. The dying, the blind, tlie deaf and dumb, the lame, and the paralytic, were instanlly eined by him. He was beatified by Pius \TI, .") September, 1806, and canonized by Pius X, 20 iMa\-, 1909. His feast occurs on 23 March.

Sai.otti. Vilii :li San Giuseppe Oriol (Rome. 1909); Mabdeu, Vida del Bailo Josef Oriol (Italian and Spanish. 1806; new Span- ish cd., Barcelona, 1S86) ; Ballester. Vida de Sail Josi Oriol (Barcelona, 1909) ; Eularia Anzizd, Vida de St. Joseph Oriol (in Catalan, Barcelona, 1909; Spanish tr., Barcelona, 1910).

Charles J. Mullaly.

Oristano, Diocese of (Arborensis), in Sardinia. Oristano was the capital of the giudicatura (independ- ent district) of Arborea, given to the House of Sardi, after the expulsion of the Saracens, and was .subject to Pisa. It was the last city to surrender to the Ara- gonese (1478), against whom it was valiantly defended by Mariano. Bishops of Arborea are mentioned for the first time in the letters of Gregory VII. The bishop Tragadorio (1195) built the cathedral; Friar Guido Cattano (1312) took part in the Franciscan controversy on the poverty of Jesus Christ; Jacopo Serra (1492) was Vicar of Rome and became a cardi- nal; Girolamo Barberani (1565) had several disputes with the Dominicans and Pius V; Antonio Canopolo (1588) founded the seminary, rebuilt by Luigi Eraan- uele del Carretto (1756), and contributed also to other works of public utility. In 1503 there was united to the See of Oristano that of Santa Giusta, where SS. Justa, Justina, and ^Enedina martyred under Hadrian(?), are venerated. Bishops of Santa Giusta are known from the year 1119. The diocese is a suffragan of Cagliari; it has 74 parishes, with 97,000 inhabitants, 3 religious houses of men, and 7 of women, 3 schools for boys, and 2 for girls.

Cappelletti, Le Chiese d' Italia, V.

II. Benigni.

Orkneys, a group of islands situated between 58° 41' and 59° 24' N. lat. and 2° 22' and 3° 25' W. long., and lying to the north of Scotland, from which they are separated by Pent land Firth. They include Holme and Klippen, the most important, however, being Pomona or Mainland. The total area is over three hundred and seventy-five square miles and the popu- lation (of Xorse descent), almost exclusively Calvin- ist and English speaking, numbers 30,000. These islands, for the most part level (the greatest altitude being 1541 feet, on Hoy), rocky, barren, treeless, part- ly covered by swampland, produce only barley, oats, potatoes, and beets. Stock raising is an important industry, the yearly production being 30^00 cattle, 40,000 sheep, 5000 pigs, and 6000 horses of a small but sturdy breed. The hunting of birds, seal, and whales, and the deep-sea fisheries (herring, cod, and lobsters) furnish the inhabitants with further means of suste- nance. Excellent trout are to be caught in the nu- merous fiords and small lakes. Mining for iron, tin, and silver is also carried on successfully. The ex- portation of down and woven stuffs, (shawls, etc.) forms a lucrative source of income. Politically, the Orkneys form, with the Shetlands, a county, the capital being Kirkwall (a town of 5000 inhabi- tants), important as a trading centre, with a good harbour.

History.— Among the ancients the OpuHies i-Tjtroi also called Orcacies insula;, are the Orkneys, mentioned by Pliny, Mela, and Tacitus. Julius Agricola, as com- mander of the trooi)s garrisoned in Britain, in a. d. 69, had the coast of Enghuid explored by his ships of war, and took back more trustworthy information concern-