Jesús Aguirre y Ortiz de Zárate, Duke consort of Alba (9 June 1934 – 11 May 2001) was a Spanish intellectual, but never a Jesuit priest, as was claimed by some, but he was ordained to the priethood and later dispensed by the Holy See.
In 1958, during his vacation to Spain, he joined the People's Liberation Front, and in 1962 he served as a pastor to the Church of the City University of Madrid.
During his time as a priest, he worked for Taurus Publishing House, first as a translator and editor of religious publications, eventually becoming editor-in-chief, becoming a personal friend of many Spanish writers and politicians.
[3] During his time at Taurus, Aguirre met Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba, and decided to leave the priesthood to be able to marry her.
He was also elected to be Commissioner of the Universal Exposition of 1992 in Sevilla, and in December 1985 he became a member of the Real Academia Sevillana de Buenas Letras.