Joaquin Abarca, a Spanish bishop, born in Aragon about 1780, died at Lanza, near Turin, June 21, 1844. Having been promoted in 1823 from a village priest to be bishop of Leon, for supporting the absolute rule of Ferdinand VII., he accompanied the pretender Don Carlos to Portugal and England, and acted as his agent, and in 1836 as his prime minister in the Basque provinces, but finally forfeited his regard. Being banished from Spain after various political intrigues and adventures, he retired in 1839 to a monastery at Lanza, where he remained until his death.