Mariano José de Escalada Bustillo y Zeballos (26 November 1799 - 29 July 1870) was an Argentine Catholic archbishop who served as the bishop of Buenos Aires between 1855 and 1865, and the diocese's first archbishop from 1865 until his death in 1870.
Early life and career Escalada was born on 26 November 1799 into a wealthy Buenos Aires family. One of his cousins, María de los Remedios de Escalada, became the wife of José de San Martín, an Argentine general who helped secure the country's independence from Spain.
In 1832, Escalada was appointed as the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Buenos Aires by Pope Gregory XVI, however the Argentine government refused his appointment, leading to him not being permitted to assume the rule until April 1835, when it was approved by Juan Manuel de Rosas. The same year, Escalada was appointed bishop of the titular see of Aulon. Escalada was a supporter of the Jesuits, however the group was expelled from Argentina in 1843 by order of Rosas. Escalada was viewed negatively by the Argentine government for his support of the group, and he "spent his days between confinement in his house and self-imposed exile at his family's country estate".
Escalada served as a critical point of contact with an apostolic nunciature in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, largely due to his location in Buenos Aires being the first point of departure for news from the Holy See bound for Rio. Alongside Castro Barros, another priest based in Uruguay, the two exchanged letters with members of the nunciature, discussing the appointments of clergy members and the status of the church in their respective countries. This position was disrupted on Escalada's end in the early 1840s as he began to face opposition from Rosas.
Archbishop of Buenos Aires , then-bishop of Buenos Aires, died in 1851. Three years later in March 1854, Escalada was nominated by the governor of Buenos Aires to succeed him. Following his approval by the Pope, Escalada requested the release of an exequatur, a document recognizing the legitimacy of the church's actions, from the governor, however this action was challenged by a Buenos Aires court as the Pope's approval did not mention the "civil engagement". The government of Buenos Aires also wanted Escalada to swear an oath submitting to their laws. Escalada agreed to a compromise, agreeing to follow all laws that "in no way oppose the laws of God and the Church". The government accepted this, as allowing Escalada to serve as bishop would weaken the position of Justo José de Urquiza, who was attempting to divide the jurisdiction of the diocese of Buenos Aires. Escalada assumed the role of bishop on 18 November 1855. In 1865, the ecclesiastical province of Buenos Aires was elevated to the status of an archdiocese, making Escalada the first archbishop of Buenos Aires. As part of the elevation, his original role as bishop of the diocese was retired and he was required to swear loyalty to the Argentine state, alongside a promise "not to accept a foreign title without the consent of the government".
During his time as archbishop, Escalada approved the construction of eighteen new churches in his diocese and wrote multiple pastoral letters. In Buenos Aires, Escalada chose to defer ownership of the city's seminary to the Jesuits. Between 1856 and 1863, Escalada made multiple visits to a Dominican monastery where he issued multiple orders to the group, including the appointment of "Council Mothers" and a ban on the nuns of the monastery from reading the newspaper.
Escalada opposed gallicanism and sought to align the church closer to the Holy See while maintaining a distinction between church and state. This brought him into conflict with some members of clergy and the elite, where spiritual matters were delegated to the Pope and legal matters to the secular state. Escalada also staunchly opposed freemasonry, writing a November 1855 pastoral letter declaring the group incompatible with Catholicism. In September 1858, Escalada ordered the parish priest of the city of San Miguel to not hold a funeral for Juan Musso due to his status as a freemason, despite him having been a devout Catholic. His actions led to significant debate in Argentina, alongside attacks targeting the homes of priests. The conflict is considered to have delayed the liberalization of the relationship between church and state in Argentina due to desires from Escalada and his supporters to maintain power.
In 1870, Escalada, alongside three other Argentine bishops, traveled to Rome to take part in the First Vatican Council. While there, he died unexpectedly on 29 July. A cabildo was called in September of that year to appoint a new archbishop, leading to him being succeeded by León Federico Aneiros.
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