Archbishop Antonio María Claret (19th Century) by Luis de Madrazo - Public Domain Catholic Painting

The “spiritual father of Cuba” was a missionary, religious founder, social reformer, queen’s chaplain, writer and publisher, archbishop, and refugee. He was a Spaniard who worked in the Canary Islands, Cuba, Madrid, Paris, and the First Vatican Council. Anthony learned Latin and printing while working as a weaver and designer in Barcelona. He became a priest and publisher, giving popular missions and retreats for 10 years. He founded the Claretians religious institute and became the head of the Archdiocese of Santiago in Cuba. He faced opposition to his reforms and was attacked by an assassin. He wanted to improve the lives of Cubans through family-owned farms. He was recalled to Spain as a queen chaplain but fled to Paris during a revolution. He founded the Religious Publishing House and wrote or published 200 books and pamphlets. At Vatican I, he defended the doctrine of infallibility. He died in exile at the age of 63.

The artis,t Luis de Madrazo y Kuntz, was a Spanish painter born in Madrid in 1825. He came from a family of well-known artists, including his father, brothers, and Polish grandfather. He and his brothers received their first art lessons from their father and later studied at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. He found employment as an illustrator and received a fellowship to study in Rome, where he met Friedrich Overbeck and was influenced by the Nazarene movement. He toured Europe before settling in Madrid, where he focused on teaching and painting portraits of the nobility. He eventually became Director of the "Escuela Superior de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado de Madrid" and received the rank of Commander in the Order of Isabel the Catholic. He died in Madrid in 1897.