The ecclesiastical institution has acquired the work, the seventh volume of "Jesucristo Predicado. Oraciones, panegíricos y morales" (Christ Preached. Prayers, panegyrics, and morals), written by the Orihuela canon Marcelo Miravete de Maseres (1729-1792), a prominent figure of the Valencian Enlightenment. This volume was part of a collection partially kept at the Seminary, where volumes II, III, IV, and VI still remain.
According to the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art, the piece was detected online and immediately acquired due to its historical and heritage significance. The manuscript contains information on social, religious, moral, and political aspects of the Diocese of Orihuela during the second half of the 18th century, making it a valuable documentary source for the study of the era.
The recovery is being presented as part of the International Archives Week, organized by the Diocesan Museum. After its cataloging, the volume will be redeposited in the Old Fund Library of the Seminary of Orihuela.
Marcelo Miravete de Maseres, born in Orihuela in 1729, was one of the first students at the Orihuela Seminary and distinguished himself as an intellectual, a doctor of Theology and Canon Law, and a professor. He corresponded with figures such as Gregorio Mayáns and showed interest in the scientific currents of his time.
His most unique facet was linked to medicine and public health. He promoted the Junta de Piedad y Compasión (Board of Piety and Compassion) to assist people who accidentally fell into irrigation ditches or the Segura River, and designed a "fumigation machine" to revive apparently drowned individuals. Among his works are "Junta de Piedad y Compasión para socorro de ahogados..." (1791) and "El Espudeo o el hombre industrioso y estudioso" (1792).
The recovered volume still bears inscriptions and the ex libris of the Conciliar Seminary Library, evidence that confirms its historical belonging to the Seminary of Orihuela's collections.
