Ricardo Gómez Roji

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Gómez and the second or maternal family name is Roji.

Ricardo Gómez Roji (9 June 1881 – 15 August 1936) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest, scholar, publisher and politician. For 26 years he served as a lecturing canon by the Burgos Cathedral, known locally for his oratory skills; he also taught theology at the Pontifical University of Salamanca, animated local Catholic agrarian trade unions, and edited and managed few Catholic periodicals and bulletins. His political career climaxed in 1931–1933; elected to the Congress of Deputies as a candidate of a broad local monarchist-Integrist-conservative alliance, he served one term within the Agrarian parliamentary minority. Afterwards he approached Carlism and advanced its cause as a propagandist. Roji was executed by Spanish Republicans during the Spanish Civil War.

Ricardo Gómez Roji
Born	Ricardo Gómez Roji 9 June 1881 Pedro Bernardo, Spain
Died	15 August 1936 (aged 55) Madrid, Spain
Cause of death	Execution by firing squad
Nationality	Spanish
Occupation	priest
Known for	canon, politician
Political party	Integrism, Agrarian Party, Carlism

Family and youth

 

Pedro Bernardo

There is close to nothing known about distant ancestors of Gómez Roji.^[1] One uncertain source claims that at least one branch of his grandparents were traditionally related to Pedro Bernardo, a mountainous town on the southern slopes of Sierra de Gredos, in the Ávila province.^[2] His father, Pedro Gómez Beades (died 1920),^[3] practiced as a surgeon in Pedro Bernardo. One author refers to him as “profesor de cirurgía”,^[4] but another one names him rather “practicante”, sort of a rural feldsher.^[5] Gómez Beades revealed some penchant for letters and used to write poetry, some of his pieces were published in local press.^[6] He married Carolina Josefa Rojí y Sánchez; none of the sources consulted provided any information either on her or on her family. The couple settled in Pedro Bernardo and had 5 children, Ricardo born as the oldest one; his siblings were Dolores, Adriana, Argimiro and Anastasio.^[7] None of them became a public figure. Anastasio was killed in 1935; the crime was unrelated to politics.^[8]

It is not clear where the young Ricardo commenced his education. One biographer claims that already in 1894 he opted for ecclesiastic career and entered Seminario Pontificio in Comillas,^[9] but another source notes that in 1894 he rather entered the local seminary in Ávila, which he reportedly frequented until ordained presbyter in 1906.^[10] However, in 1900 he was already recorded by the Cantabrian press as a student of philosophy at Comillas; he distinguished himself as author or religious poems, which he used to recite himself during religious feasts in Comillas.^[11] One more author maintains that having completed his initial curriculum, Gómez entered the Comillas seminary as late as in 1902.^[12] He pursued theology and one of his fellow seminarians was Pedro Segura y Sáenz, the future primate of Spain.^[13] According to some sources he double-majored and is referred to as “dos veces doctor”,^[14] namely in theology and in philosophy;^[15] he demonstrated interest in broad cultural spectrum and was among most brilliant students recorded at the institution.^[16]

 

Comillas Pontifical University

Gómez's first assignment was the role of coadjutor in the parish of Calzada de Oropesa, not far away from his native town.^[17] It lasted rather briefly since in 1907 he was already in Burgos, active at unspecified posts in various locations;^[18] he was noted as giving sermons in the parishes of La Merced,^[19] San Lorenzo el Real^[20] and San Cosme y San Damián,^[21] as well as providing religious service in the female orders of Hijas de María Inmaculada^[22] and Santa Dorotea.^[23] In 1908 he applied for the vacant post of a lecturing canon^[24] at the cathedral, the most prestigious Burgos church and one of the most prestigious sanctuaries in Spain. He faced tough competition of 6 counter-candidates^[25] and lost.^[26] In 1909 Gómez was delegated to the newly founded parish of Santa Agueda,^[27] where he acted as coadjutor.^[28] In 1910 Gómez took part in new opposiciones for the cathedral canongia^[29] and this time he emerged successful;^[30] he would hold the post until death for the following 26 years.

Religious service: canon, director and professor

 

Burgos cathedral

Gómez's role as the lecturing canon was first of all to deliver sermons during religious services at the cathedral; indeed he preached regularly throughout the 1910s^[31] and 1920s.^[32] Initially little known,^[33] in few years he grew to prominence and already in 1914 he was referred to as “elocuente orador”;^[34] by mid-decade Gómez was taking to the pulpit during major feasts like the Palm Sunday and in presence of prestigious audience like the local ayuntamiento.^[35] In the late 1910s his position in the Burgos community was already well established; not only hailed as “orador sagrado de bien cimentada y merecida fama”,^[36] on numerous occasions he had his sermons discussed in detail in local Catholic press, usually acclaimed for doctrinal competence,^[37] oratory skills and educational value.^[38] He was far less frequently noted as engaged in other routine religious duties; his presence during wedding mass was considered a mark of prestige for the marrying couple.^[39]

Apart from delivering sermons Gómez engaged in numerous Burgos-based Catholic organizations. In 1913 he was among the founders of Real Hermandad del Santísimo Cristo de Burgos^[40] and by 1917 he grew to the abbot of the brotherhood;^[41] he performed the role at least until the late 1920s.^[42] In the mid-1910s he became "director espiritual" of Asociación de Devotos de San José de la Montaña^[43] and director of Asociación Corte de Honor a Nuestra Señora del Pilar.^[44] In the early 1920s Gómez engaged in Unión Misional del Clero^[45] and by mid-decade he was member of Junta Directiva of Ateneo de Burgos;^[46] in 1928 he became vice-president of Junta Diocesana of Liga de Defensa del Clero^[47] and in 1930 he assumed management of Círculo de Estudios of Internado Teresiano in Burgos.^[48] As member of some of these organizations Gómez organized pilgrimages, e.g. in 1925 to Rome and the Holy Land;^[49] he engaged also in charity, e.g. by contributing to Fiesta de la Caridad.^[50] Since the early 1910s he was engaged in buildup of Sindicación Agrícola,^[51] local Catholic agrarian trade unions.^[52]

 

Cristo de Burgos

As competent scholar and good organizer Gómez contributed to major nationwide Catholic projects, e.g. co-organizing Congreso Eucarístico Internacional in Madrid of 1911^[53] or representing the Burgos diocese during preparations to Eucharistic Congress in Rome of 1922;^[54] he also took part in countless minor initiatives, like representing Burgos in the 1925 centenary of birth of San Luis Gonzaga.^[55] In acknowledgement of his scholarly competence in 1920 he was nominated professor of theology at Seminario de San Jerónimo, the Burgos branch of Universidad Pontificia of Salamanca;^[56] he later specialized in dogmatics.^[57] In the early 1920s he joined the staff of Pontificio y Real Seminario Español de S. Francisco Javier para Misiones Extranjeras, the Burgos-based papal centre which prepared candidates for missionary service.^[58]

Beyond religion: lecturer, publisher, author

 

St. Augustine by Ribera

When in the mid-1910s Gómez gained local recognition as orator and theologian he started to give lectures in Catholic institutions and at one-off gatherings, initially in Burgos but soon also elsewhere, e.g. in Madrid,^[59] Toledo^[60] or Zaragoza.^[61] Typically he appeared as guest speaker in various Catholic círculos,^[62] cultural Ateneos,^[63] Acción Católica premises^[64] or other Catholic institutions,^[65] less frequently he spoke at scientific or semi-scientific conferences; during dictablanda he was even recorded lecturing a military audience.^[66] His favorite topic was St. Augustine^[67] and the Augustinian doctrine,^[68] though gradually he broadened his interest to arts, literature,^[69] language and other manifestations of social psychology;^[70] at times he accounted of his foreign voyages,^[71] frequent especially in 1928-1929.^[72] Regularly featured in the Burgos press, at times he was acknowledged as a distinguished lecturer also in nationwide periodicals;^[73] in 1920 he earned a plaza and a street in his native town.^[74]

In the late 1900s Gómez commenced co-operation with the ultraconservative Burgos daily El Castellano, at that times owned by Francisco Estévanez. Probably around 1909 the daily was taken over by Acción Católica Diocesana, itself controlled by the archbishopric office. Cardenal Aguirre put Gómez on top of the editorial board,^[75] the function he performed until 1920.^[76] In 1916 he was appointed president of Comisión Diocesana para la Buena Prensa^[77] and in the early 1920s he engaged in Asociación de la Prensa de Burgos.^[78] At unspecified time he became director of the local Boletín Eclesiástico.^[79] Gómez seldom contributed own journalistic pieces, not necessarily related to religious topics.^[80] Rather infrequently he penned analytical articles in specialized Catholic periodicals;^[81] the only major works published were Elevaciones sobre la Santísima Virgen y Nuevo mes de Mayo, a set of translations of old Latin prayers,^[82] and Hístoria y Preces del Santísimo Cristo de Burgos. The booklet was dedicated to the 14th-century Burgos crucifix; the work discussed its history, traditions related, miracles attributed, its structure and artistic value.^[83]

 

book on Cristo de Burgos

Until the advent of the Republic Gómez was moderately and rather episodically engaged in politics-flavored initiatives. The first of such episodes occurred in 1910, when he engaged in public campaign against a so-called Ley del Candado, a law promoted by the Liberal Party and intended to prevent setup of new religious orders. Gómez co-presided over Burgos public rallies protesting the draft and as part of Cabildo Metropolitano he co-engineered the campaign in the province.^[84] Another episode took place during the late Primo de Rivera dictatorship, when Gómez penned a handful of pro-regime articles and participated in government-sponsored initiatives. In 1928 he joined the project of erecting a monument to Cid and seized the opportunity to declare that he “consideraba un deber prestar toda clase de apoyo a la obra del Gobierno actual”.^[85] A member of the primoderiverista quasi-party Unión Patriótica, in the 1929 rally he confronted calamites and miseries of late Restoration against salutary work of the dictator; he hailed UP as a link between the Spanish people and the government.^[86] During final months of dictablanda he seemed somewhat bewildered.^[87]

Deputy

 

Republic declared, 1931

Following the advent of the Republic Gómez decided to enter politics. He was not a member of any particular political party,^[88] though his previous activity clearly located him on the Right. In the 1931 electoral campaign he joined the joint candidature of Bloque Católico-agrario,^[89] a local Burgos right-wing alliance of monarchists, conservative landowners and Integrists.^[90] The Bloque emergent triumphant and Gómez easily obtained the parliamentary ticket,^[91] having been one of 8 priests elected to the chamber.^[92] In the Cortes he joined the Agrarian minority^[93] and as its representative he took a seat in Comisión de Instrucción.^[94] Together with his fellow Burgos deputy Estévanez Rodriguez he formed the most reactionary section of the assembly. Both “repeatedly vented their irritation at parliamentary procedure and, indeed, all things Republican”; in return they were “subjected to ceaseless interruptions and insults from left-wing deputies who regarded them as ‘troglodytes’ and ‘cave-dwellers’“.^[95]

Most issued Gómez discussed in the parliament were related to the Church and its role in public life.^[96] In general, he was trying to stop the avalanche of secularizing and anti-clerical regulations, advanced by the republican-socialist majority. In particular, he opposed proposed legislation on cemeteries,^[97] on religious orders,^[98] on marriages^[99] and divorces^[100] or on Church property rights.^[101] The thread he focused on with singular vehemence was education. Gómez defended Catholic schools^[102] and advocated the rights of parents to educate children the way they liked;^[103] he opposed compulsory secular education and related projects like Misiones Pedagógicas, supposed to “Europeanize” Spain.^[104] He frequently clashed on education-related issues with the chief advocate of secular and liberal schooling model, Fernando de los Ríos.^[105] He opposed the Catalan autonomy draft^[106] and supported female suffrage.^[107]

 

Gómez at a conference of Catholic students, Madrid, 1930s

Gómez turned out to be a very active deputy; the press of 1931-1933 hundreds of times^[108] noted him as exchanging arguments during plenary sessions,^[109] engaging in debates held by the commission,^[110] harassing ministers during question time,^[111] submitting legislative amendments^[112] or signing protest letters.^[113] When unable to get his way overruled by republican-socialist majority, he used to make sure his “voto particular” was recorded;^[114] at times he challenged the chamber speaker and accused him of tyrannical mode of presiding.^[115] As it became apparent that his efforts to block the republican constitution draft – according to Gómez socializing, anti-Catholic and aimed against the family^[116] - were futile he joined a few other MPs who left the chamber in protest instead of taking part in the final voting.^[117] Ridiculed by left-wing press for his “tono ambiguo, casi cariñoso y paternal”,^[118] he was once assaulted on the street and received a few punches.^[119]

Carlist

 

Carlist standard

Some authors claim that already in 1931 Gómez was elected as a Carlist,^[120] yet there is no evidence of his links to legitimist politics prior to mid-1932. Since the 1910s appreciated by the Burgos Jaimistas^[121] and in 1931 once speaking in the Cortes on behalf of “minoría católica navarra”,^[122] he was much closer to the Integrist breed of Traditionalism.^[123] However, since 1932 he started to appear on Carlist rallies^[124] and in June accepted Don Alfonso Carlos’ nomination to Consejo de Cultura, a Carlist board of pundits entrusted with guarding the Traditionalist doctrinal orthodoxy.^[125] Still member of the Agrarian minority in the Cortes,^[126] in 1933 he was already fairly frequently taking part in Carlist conferences,^[127] rallies^[128] and feasts;^[129] late in the year he took part in the Carlist pilgrimage to Italy, which included homages to remnants of defunct legitimist pretenders.^[130] Prior to the 1933 electoral campaign the Carlists included him among proposed right-wing alliance candidates in Burgos,^[131] but eventually they bowed to the pressure of CEDA and Gómez fell off the list.^[132] He joined Coalición Católico-Agraria Burgalesa,^[133] led by José María Albiñana;^[134] he narrowly missed the electoral threshold during the first round^[135] and lost also in by-elections one month later.^[136]

Some authors claim that Gómez was “deeply hurt” about having been dropped from the original alliance list,^[137] yet in fact he got even closer to Carlism. He contributed to the party mouthpiece El Siglo Futuro,^[138] praised “our Comunión Tradicionalista”^[139] as the backbone of Spain,^[140] spoke at Carlist-only rallies,^[141] addressed Requeté and Margaritas organizations,^[142] appeared at Carlist círculos,^[143] hailed Carlist martyrs,^[144] consecrated Carlist standards^[145] and was acclaimed as "nuestro coreligionario”.^[146] He was also co-author of a Carlist political statement, aimed against the Alfonsine dynasty.^[147] By late 1935 he explicitly and publicly embraced the Carlist identity when hailing “Dios, Patria y Rey” and “nuestro Augusto Caudillo”, the legitimist pretender Don Alfonso Carlos.^[148] Except the seat in Consejo de Cultura Gómez did not held any post in the party.

 

Republican militia in plundered church, Madrid 1936

Gómez did not stand in the 1936 elections and none of the sources consulted provides information whether he intended to. Since 1934 he focused rather on advancing the Traditionalist cause in daily press,^[149] contributed analytical studies on culture to more in-depth periodicals like Tradición, investigated “sectas y sociedades secretas”^[150] and published articles on art,^[151] culture, anthropology and social psychology.^[152] Having lost the Cortes ticket he returned to Burgos and resumed his sermons and the usual service of the cathedral canon;^[153] at one opportunity he was again physically assaulted.^[154] The July 1936 coup caught him in Madrid. On 22 July a combined patrol of policemen, Guardia Civil and militiamen came to arrest him, but in unclear circumstances he managed to avoid detention.^[155] However, on August 15 another patrol visited a convent looking for him, and this time Gómez was taken away. Details of his death are not clear; it is presumed he was executed the same day by the roadside between Madrid and Hortaleza, where his corpse has been found.^[156]

See also

• Traditionalism (Spain)
• Carlism
• Integrism (Spain)
• Spanish Agrarian Party
• El Castellano (1900-1940)

Notes

1. his segundo apellido was at times spelled as "Rogi", especially in the 1910s, compare La Correspondencia de Espana 12.06.11, available here
2. “su abuela nació en Pedro Bernardo”, comments at Gómez-Roji entry, [in:] Pedro Bernardo service 16.12.13, available here
3. La Voz de Castilla 24.10.20, available here
4. Jorge López Teulón, Ricardo Gómez Rojí (1), [in:] Religion en Libertad service 29.11.13, available here
5. Jesús Maldonado Jiménez, Actitudes político religiosas de la minoría agraria de las Cortes Constituyentes de 1931 [PhD Universidad Complutense 1974], Madrid 2015, p. 175
6. La Victoria 12.12.08, available here
7. López Teulón 2013
8. Diario de Burgos 30.11.30, available here
9. Diario de Burgos 20.03.92, available here
10. exact dates differ; one author claims Gómez was ordained on May 9, 1909, see Maldonado Jiménez 2015, p. 175; another scholar suggests June 9, 1909, Santiago Martínez Sánchez, El Cardenal Pedro Segura y Sáenz (1880-1957) [PhD thesis Universidad de Navarra], Pamplona 2002, p. 20
11. La Atalaya 31.12.00, available here
12. López Teulón 2013
13. Jorge López Teulón, Gómez Roji, Ricardo, [in:] Tradición Viva service 09.12.13, available here
14. López Teulón 2013
15. Maldonado Jiménez 2015, p. 175
16. Diario de Burgos 20.03.92, available here
17. Maldonado Jiménez 2015, p. 175
18. according to one scholar, before moving in to Burgos Gómez served “en varia parroquias de Toledo, Avila y Burgos”, Antonio M. Moral Roncal, La cuestión religiosa en la Segunda República Española: Iglesia y carlismo, Madrid 2009, ISBN 9788497429054, p. 208
19. Diario de Burgos 16.11.07, available here
20. Diario de Burgos 26.05.08, available here
21. Diario de Burgos 25.11.08, available here
22. Diario de Burgos 14.12.07, available here
23. Diario de Burgos 27.08.08, available here
24. in original “canongia lectoral”
25. Diario de Burgos 22.06.08, available here
26. Gómez's work prepared for the exam was a treaty on prophet Ezequiel, Diario de Burgos 30.06.08, available here
27. Diario de Burgos 05.02.09, available here
28. Diario de Burgos 14.08.09, available here
29. Diario de Burgos 09.07.10, available here
30. La Correspondencia de España 24.07.10, available here, El Siglo Futuro 01.08.10, available here; some sources claim that Gómez became a canon in 1909, Martínez Sánchez 2002, p. 35
31. see e.g. El Correo Español 15.10.16, available here and Diario de Burgos 23.11.18, available here
32. see e.g. Diario de Burgos 23.09.21, available here
33. see e.g. Diario de Burgos 14.12.12, available here, Diario de Burgos 08.12.13, available here
34. La Correspondencia de España 08.07.14, available here
35. La Voz de Castilla 05.04.14, available here
36. La Voz de Castilla 02.07.16, available here
37. El Monte Carmelo 15.09.16, available here
38. La Acción 31.03.23, available here
39. Diario de Burgos 25.10.24, available here
40. Diario de Burgos 06.09.60, available here
41. Tierra Hidalga 06.01.17, available here
42. Diario de Burgos 12.11.17, available here
43. Diario de Burgos 17.01.14, available here
44. Diario de Burgos 11.09.16, available here
45. Diario de Burgos 12.01.24, available here
46. Diario de Burgos 02.04.24, available here
47. Diario de Burgos 08.02.28, available here
48. Diario de Burgos 28.11.30, available here
49. Diario de Burgos 07.07.25, available here
50. Diario de Burgos 20.01.12, available here
51. Maldonado Jiménez 2015, p. 175
52. Diario de Burgos 20.03.92, available here
53. La Correspondencia de España 12.06.11, available here, Moral Roncal 2009, p. 208
54. Diario de Burgos, 20.03.92, available here, also Moral Roncal 2009, p. 208
55. El Día de Palencia 24.12.25, available here
56. Diario de Burgos 01.10.20, available here
57. Boletín Ecclesiastico 15.10.23, available here
58. Boletín del Clero del Obispado de León 10.03.21, available here
59. La Voz de Castilla 28.02.15, available here
60. La Voz de Castilla 18.04.15, available here
61. El Papa-Moscas 27.05.17, available here
62. Diario de Burgos 12.04.19, available here
63. Diario de Burgos 27.03.25, available here
64. Diario de Burgos 20.03.92, available here
65. El Siglo Futuro 09.04.30, available here
66. Diario de Burgos 31.03.31, available here
67. La Acción 29.08.17, available here, also El Debate 20.03.23, available here
68. e.g. at a 1923 Gómez discussed the following topics: 1) las realidades divinas en el cristiano, para explicar la vida divina y sa participación; 2) cuáles son los entidades constitutivas de esa vida físicas y permanentes en el hombre; 3) como se explica el mecanismo humano divino, psicológico y neumático, sin lesionar niestorbar todo el engranaje vital espiritual de las facultades humanas elevadas al orden sobrenatural; 4) cuál es el motor supremo en el criátianismo justo de esa vida sobrenatural, La Epoca 16.02.23, available here
69. ABC 08.04.24, available here
70. e.g. in 1925 Gómez delivered a series of charlas “Filosofía y psicología del lenguaje”, for details see Diario de Burgos 27.03.25, available here; in a 1924 Ateneo sessions he used to give lectures not only on religious topics, e.g. on “El sentimiento, la fuerzas y el realism en las tresgrandesliteraturas de la Humanidad (la Latina, la griega y la hebrea), see Diario de Burgos 07.04.24, available here
71. Diario de Burgos 31.03.31, available here
72. Maldonado Jiménez 2015, p. 176
73. ABC 08.04.24, available here
74. Diario de Burgos 01.10.20, available here. The plaza has been renamed since then, but Calle Canonigo Gomez Roji still exists in Pedro Bernardo
75. Diario de Burgos 20.03.92, available here
76. Maldonado Jiménez 2015, p. 175
77. Boletín del Claro del Obispadeo de León 12.06.12, available here
78. Diario de Burgos 05.12.21, available here
79. Diario de Burgos 20.03.92, available here
80. among rather few of his own articles identified the one which stands out is the 1926 piece, hailing the transatlantic flight of Ramón Franco; in exalted passages formatted as homage to Spain Gómez claimed that “la humanidad extiende sobre sus cabezas un nimbo de la gloria", Diario de Burgos 11.02.26, available here
81. e.g. in 1929 a specialized monthly Vida Sobrenatural. Revista de Teología Mística Gómez released Impresiones Rapidas in Vida Sobrenatural
82. Diario de Burgos 25.04.29, available here
83. Diario de Burgos 14.01.15, available here
84. López Teulón 2013, Martínez Sánchez 2002, pp. 31-32
85. Diario de Burgos 20.08.28, available here
86. Gómez presided over a 1929 rally in Teatro Principal; in his address he confronted the misery of pre-1923 politics (strikes which paralyse the country and produce losses to economy, constant bleeding in Morocco, country being sold out for foreign gold) to glories of the dictatorship, “una nube entre el pueblo y el Gobierno que rige sus destinos”, Diario de Burgos 08.04.29, available here
87. in January 1931 members of the Burgos aristocracy were shocked to discover that Gómez was somewhat skeptical about linking the Catholic and the monarchical cause. The entire Junta Directiva of the Burgos Acción Católica considered resignation, but eventually there was no follow up, Martínez Sánchez 2002, p. 172
88. Maldonado Jiménez 2015, p. 176
89. more information at Maldonado Jiménez 2015, pp. 80-83
90. initially there were 4 competitive lists appearing in Burgos under the "Agrarian" heading; for details on pre-electoral haggling see María Luisa Tezanos Gandarillas, Ricardo Gómez Rojí y el Bloque Católico-Agrario: Burgos, [in:] María Luisa Tezanos Gandarillas, Los sacerdotes diputados ante la política religiosa de la Segunda República: 1931-1933 [PhD thesis Universidad de Alcalá], Alcalá de Henares 2017, pp. 142-144
91. Las elecciones constituyentes de 1931 en las merindades y Burgos, [in:] Las Merindades en la Memoria service 28.06.11, available here
92. López Teulón 2013
93. Luis Teófilo Gil Cuadrado, El Partido Agrario Español (1934-1936) [PhD thesis Universidad Complutense], Madrid 2006, pp. 117, 120; according to some sources Gómez acted as speaker for the entire Agrarian minority, El Cantábrico 28.04.33, available here
94. La Libertad 28.07.31, available here
95. Martin Blinkhorn, Carlism and Crisis in Spain 1931-1939, Cambridge 2008, ISBN 9780521086349, pp. 59-60
96. detailed discussion of Gómez and other religious Agrarian minority members taking stand on key issues discussed in the Cortes in Maldonado Jiménez 2015, pp. 190-499
97. Región 14.01.32, available here
98. La Prensa 30.01.01, available here
99. El Diario Palentino 20.05.32, available here
100. Región 13.02.32, available here
101. El Diario Palentino 24.03.33, available here
102. El magisterio español 26.03.32, available here
103. Gómez was member of Agrupación de la Defensa y Libertad de los Padres en la Educación de los Hijos, Diario de Burgos 08.08.31, available here
104. Misiónez Pedagógicas was a cultural programme launched by Ministry of Public Instruction, intended for the countryside with the purpose of “Europeanizing Spain”, Sandie Eleanor Holguin, Creating Spaniards: Culture and National Identity in Republican Spain, Madison 2002, ISBN 9780299176341, pp. 48, 76
105. El Noticiero Gaditano 18.01.32, available here
106. Hoja Oficial de la Provincia de Barcelona 05.09.77, available here
107. López Teulón 2013
108. between June 1931 and November 1933 Gómez was mentioned 503 times in press titles listed by Hemeroteca.bne service, see here, and 756 times in press titles listed by PrensaHistorica service, see here
109. El Orzán 05.09.31, available here
110. La Opinión 03.12.31, available here
111. El Día de Palencia 20.02.32, available here
112. El Diario Palentino 13.02.32, available here
113. El Adelanto 06.04.32, available here
114. La Opinión 03.12.31, available here
115. Las Provincias 08.06.32, available here
116. López Teulón 2013
117. Heraldo de Zamora 17.10.31, available here
118. “mete su palabara bronco y a media voz hiere rápido para volver a su tono ambiguo, casi cariñoso y paternal, de hombre que todo lo comprende, que ha vivido mucho y muy largo y conoce la humanidad por su lado flaco”, La Calle 11.09.31, available here
119. Heraldo de Castellón 07.11.31, available here. Following another tumultuous debate in the Cortes a left-wing daily accused Gómez of frequenting Madrid cabarets, El Bién Público 05.08.33, available here
120. he is counted among “cinco jaimistas” elected in 1931, Melchor Ferrer , Historia del tradicionalismo español, vol XXX, Sevilla 1979, p. 108. Similar opinion in Gabriel Alférez Callejón, Historia del Carlismo, Madrid 1995, ISBN 9788487863394, p. 232, and Martínez Sánchez 2002, p. 172. According to one more scholar in mid-1930s Gómez was “antiguo diputado carlista”, see Moral Roncal 2009, p. 208. In some other accounts his 1931 parliamentary mandate is discussed against the Carlist background, see Blinkhorn 2008, p. 57, Robert Vallverdú i Martí, El carlisme català durant la Segona República Espanyola 1931-1936, Barcelona 2008, ISBN 9788478260805, p. 84
121. e.g. in 1916 the Burgos branch of Juventud Jaimista of Burgos acclaimed Gómez for “oración que como suya, superó á toda pondración, tanto en doctrina como en elocuencia galana y convicción profunda”, Tierra Hidalga 01.06.16, available here
122. El Orzán 05.09.31, available here
123. Maldonado Jiménez 2015, p. 53
124. La Independencia 20.12.32, available here
125. Ferrer 1979, pp. 97-98
126. two scholarly works on Partido Agrario clearly count Gómez among members of the Agrarian parliamentary minority (though not among members of the party itself), compare Gil Cuadrado 2006, pp. 117, 120, Maldonado Jiménez 2015, p. 175 and passim. However, sporadically some press titles of the era declared Gómez a Carlist as early as February 1933, see Región 28.02.33, available here. Partido Agrario and Comunión Tradicionalista indeed tended to co-operate in the Cortes and in March 1933 Gómez co-signed a common Agrarian-Carlist manifesto, El Día 03.03.33, available here
127. La Gaceta de Tenerife 19.02.33, available here. Gómez took part in a conference dedicated to the Traditionalist theorist Vázquez de Mella and admitted to having been his follower, El Siglo Futuro 30.03.33, available here
128. Tradición 15.01.33, available here, El Siglo Futuro 21.02.33, available here
129. in March 1933 Gómez took part in a traditional Carlist feast, Día de los Martíres de la Tradición, El Siglo Futuro 10.03.33, available here
130. Las Provincias 22.09.33, available here
131. La Gaceta de Tenerife 18.10.33, available here
132. Gil Cuadrado 2006, p. 262
133. Diario de Burgos 04.11.33, available here
134. irritated by alleged injustice, Gómez provided his own account of the negotiations and explained his decisions in detail in El Día 04.11.33, available here
135. in November 1933 Gómez got 18,891 votes, Diario de Burgos 24.11.33, available here
136. in by-election of December Gómez got 17,095 votes, Las Provincias 08.12.33, available here
137. Blinkhorn 2008, p. 121
138. ABC 22.08.39, available here
139. Tradición 01.07.34, available here
140. “fortunately, there is an association, a Comunión, … which lives for religion and fatherland: it is traditionalism”, Tradición 01.01.35, available here
141. Tradición 01.01.35, available here
142. Pensamiento Alaves 28.05.35, available here
143. La Independencia 04.06.35, available here
144. in June 1935 Gómez took part in a rally honoring a 19th-century Carlist hero, Zumalacárregui, La Gaceta de Tenerife 25.06.35, available here; in October 1935 he attended homage session to honor a Carlist killed during the 1934 revolution, Marcelino Oreja, El Siglo Futuro 16.10.35, available here
145. El Siglo Futuro 23.12.35, available here
146. El Siglo Futuro 16.04.35, available here
147. in 1935 Gómez co-authored an article published in El Siglo Futuro; the piece was related to the wedding of Don Juan, the Alfonsist heir to the throne, Moral Roncal 2009, p. 208. The authors wished him all the best but noted that the marriage and would-be offspring are irrelevant from the dynastical point of view, as the right to the throne rested with the Carlist line. The article is the only identified case when Gómez explicitly endorsed the Carlist dynastical claim
148. El Siglo Futuro 24.12.35, available here
149. El Siglo Futuro 03.01.35, available here
150. Moral Roncal 2009, p. 209
151. El Siglo Futuro 24.01.36, available here
152. La Gaceta de Tenerife 18.07.33, available here, El Iris 02.03.36, available here
153. Diario de Burgos 14.09.34, available here
154. Pensamiento Alaves 04.02.36, available here
155. Pensamiento Alaves 03.05.39, available here
156. Pensamiento Alaves 03.05.39, available here, Jorge López Teulón, Ricardo Gómez Rojí (2), [in:] Religion en Libertad service 04.12.13, available here. In 1960 a plaque commemorating “caídos por Dios y por la patria” was mounted on the wall of the Pedro Bernardo parish church; Gómez was named second on the list, right after José Antonio Primo de Rivera, Gómez-Roji entry, [in:] Pedro Bernardo service 16.12.13, available here. The plaque was illegally destroyed in 2008 by the city council amidst strong protests, Un juzgado considera que la retirada de una placa franquista "no se ajusta a derecho", [in:] 20 Minutos service 25.06.09, available here

Further reading

• Martin Blinkhorn, Carlism and Crisis in Spain, Cambridge 2008, ISBN 9780521086349
• Luis Teófilo Gil Cuadrado, El Partido Agrario Español (1934-1936) [PhD thesis Universidad Complutense], Madrid 2006
• Jesús Maldonado Jiménez, Actitudes político religiosas de la minoría agraria de las Cortes Constituyentes de 1931 [PhD thesis Universidad Complutense 1974], Madrid 2015
• Antonio M. Moral Roncal, La cuestión religiosa en la Segunda República Española: Iglesia y carlismo, Madrid 2009, ISBN 9788497429054
• María Luisa Tezanos Gandarillas, Ricardo Gómez Rojí y el Bloque Católico-Agrario: Burgos, [in:] María Luisa Tezanos Gandarillas, Los sacerdotes diputados ante la política religiosa de la Segunda República: 1931-1933 [PhD thesis Universidad de Alcalá], Alcalá de Henares 2017, pp. 142–150

External links

• Gomez Roji at the official Cortes service
• Por Dios y por España; contemporary Carlist propaganda on YouTube