From Bishop’s family to Bishop of Cordoba. Benito Lascano’s political career as an example of ecclesiastical promotion, 1800-1836

Abstract

This paper deals with a common phenomenon in
the XIXth century; the reorientation of the social
capital –in the sense Bourdieu gave to this
concept- in order to change and relocate oneself
in a better social and political position. We
propose to show this process of resignification of
social capital through the example of Bishop
Lascano.
In the first place, we will cope with his political
profile, considering his changing position, as well
as his ecclesiastical career and his relationships.
We will analize how Benito Lascano managed to
achieve better positions. Finally, we will focus on
his pastoral activities, trying to identify the
aspects the Bishop cared the most, and linking the
two dimensions, the ecclesiastical and the
political one, so that we can discover a possible
interpretation of the local church and the religious
practices in Cordoba.