Santos Abril y Castelló (born 21 September 1936) is a Spanish prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

. After a career in the diplomatic corps of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

, he held a number of positions in the Roman Curia and from 2011 to 2016 was Archpriest of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Biography

Abril y Castelló was born in

Alfambra Alfambra is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. , the municipality has a population of 676 inhabitants. This locality is famous for the Battle of Alfambra fought in 1938 during the Spanish Civil War Historical Ori ...

, Spain. He was ordained a priest for the diocese of Teruel and Albarracín on 19 March 1960. In 1961, he went to Rome to study and obtained a doctorate in social sciences at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum'' and a doctorate in canon law at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

. He attended the

Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy ( la, Pontificia Ecclesiastica Academia, it, Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic ...

in Rome. Joining he diplomatic service of the Holy See, he worked in Pakistan, Turkey and the Second Section of the Secretariat of State in Rome. On 29 April 1985, Pope John Paul II named him

Apostolic Nuncio to Bolivia The Apostolic Nunciature to Bolivia the diplomatic mission of the Holy See to Bolivia. It is located in La Paz. The current Apostolic Nuncio to Bolivia is Angelo Accattino, who was appointed by Pope Francis on 12 September 2017. The Apostolic Nu ...

and

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Tamada. He received his episcopal consecration on 16 June 1985 from

Cardinal Secretary of State The Secretary of State of His Holiness (Latin: Secretarius Status Sanctitatis Suae, it, Segretario di Stato di Sua Santità), commonly known as the Cardinal Secretary of State, presides over the Holy See's Secretariat of State, which is the ...

Agostino Casaroli Agostino Casaroli (24 November 1914 – 9 June 1998) was an Italian Catholic priest and diplomat for the Holy See, who became Cardinal Secretary of State. He was the most important figure behind the Vatican's efforts to deal with the persecutio ...

. Pope John Paul named him apostolic pro-nuncio to Cameroon, to Gabon, and to Equatorial Guinea on 2 October 1989 and nuncio to Yugoslavia on 24 February 1996. On 4 March 2000 he named him nuncio to Argentina. On 9 April 2003, he named him nuncio to both Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, to which he added the title nuncio to Macedonia on 12 April. On 22 January 2011, Pope Benedict named him Vice-Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, the official responsible controlling access to

papal conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. ...

s and overseeing their operations. On 2 April 2011 he was appointed a member of the

Congregation for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usually followed. The Dic ...

. On 21 November 2011 he was named Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major. On 18 February 2012 Pope Benedict raised him to the rank of cardinal, making him

Cardinal-Deacon A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of San Ponziano. On 21 April 2012 he was appointed a member of the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...

, the

and the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

. On 23 July 2012,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

named Archbishop

Pier Luigi Celata Pier Luigi Celata (born 23 January 1937) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who from July 2012 to December 2014 was Vice Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church. He spent much of his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He be ...

to succeed him as Vice-Camerlengo. He was one of the

cardinal electors A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

who participated in the

2013 papal conclave The 2013 papal conclave was convened to elect a pope to succeed Pope Benedict XVI following his resignation on 28 February 2013. After the 115 participating cardinal-electors gathered, they set 12 March 2013 as the beginning of the conclave. ...

that elected

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

. The day before the election of Pope Francis, ''

La Stampa ''La Stampa'' (meaning ''The Press'' in English) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin, Italy. It is distributed in Italy and other European nations. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. History and profile The paper was fou ...

'' named Abril y Costello as a possible candidate for the papacy because he combined experience in both Latin American and the Roman Curia. The newspaper also reported that before the conclave Abril served as a mediator in discussions between factions of cardinals representing Latin America and others looking for a pope from outside the Curia. On 15 January 2014, he was named to a five-year term as a member of the Commission of Cardinals overseeing the

Institute for the Works of Religion The Institute for the Works of Religion ( it, Istituto per le Opere di Religione; la, Institutum pro Operibus Religionis; abbreviated IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a financial institution situated inside Vatican City and run by ...

(IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, and on 4 March 2014, the members of that Commission elected him as their president. His curial appointments ended when he reached the age of 80, as did his right to vote in a papal conclave. On 28 December 2016, Pope Francis accepted his resignation as Archpriest and appointed Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko to succeed him. On 4 March 2022, he was elevated to the rank of cardinal priest.

References

External links