PADILLA, DIEGO FRANCISCO

Colombian priest, patriot, and pamphleteer; b. Bogotá, Colombia, c. 1754; d. Bojacá, Colombia, April 9,1829. His parents were Alejo Padilla and Juana Francisca Rico. Diego, who joined the augustinians about 1770, had two brothers in the same order, in addition to four other brothers and three sisters who entered the religious life. Of the ten, Diego was the most gifted; he gained a reputation for erudition, eloquence, and literary skill. A contemporary reported that by 1809 Padilla had published 49 pamphlets (the majority of them anonymous) in defense of religion and of the movement for independence in New Granada. In 1810 he was one of the leading spokesmen for independence and he became a member of the first junta of the revolutionary government. With Manuel Bernardo Álvarez he published a weekly political journal, El aviso al público, that lasted for five months beginning on Sept. 19, 1810. He also founded a similar publication called El sabatino. In 1816, convicted of revolutionary activity by the Spanish authorities, Padilla was sent into exile in Spain. Pardoned on Jan.15, 1820, he was released from prison and, some months later, at his request, granted permission to return to Colombia. His remaining years were spent in Bojacá where he had previously served as pastor.

Bibliography: m. g. romero, "Participación del clero en la lucha por la independencia," Boletín de historia y antigüedades 49 (1962) 325–344. l. monroy, "Los Agustinos en el pueblo de Bojacá, Colombia," Archivo agustiniano 56 (1962) 348–397.

[a. j. ennis]