Antonio Alcalde Barriga (14 March 1701 - 7 August 1792) was a Spanish Roman Catholic prelate and professed member from the Order of Preachers who served as the Bishop of Guadalajara.

[1][2][3] He served in Dominicans convents across his homeland for over three decades as a teacher and prior before King Carlos III appointed him to a diocese in Mexico where he would be until being relocated to Guadalajara.

[2][3] King Charles III - in July 1760 - travelled the slopes of Valverde and rested at the convent when he began feeling fatigued; it was there that he met and became impressed with Alcalde for his virtue and for his organizational abilities.

Pope Clement XIII confirmed this appointment four months later in 1762 and he received his episcopal consecration in mid-1863 in the Cartagena de Indias cathedral before setting sail for Mexico for his new mission where he was enthroned on 1 August 1763.

Alcalde was appointed as the Bishop of Guadalajara on 20 May 1771 after it had been vacant for little over five months and had the canon Manuel Colón de Larreátegui take possession of the see on his behalf on 19 August 1771.

His two main legacies best remembered are the San Miguel Hospital and the Universidad de Guadalajara (obtaining approval for the college's construction in 1791 from King Charles IV) as he helped to found both during his episcopate.

[1][2] The bishop's tenure was marked with a dedication to construct and restore churches across the large diocese which also extended to convents and schools since he had made education in the faith one of his main priorities.