Rafael Merry del Val y Zulueta, (10 October 1865 – 26 February 1930) was a
Spanish Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
bishop, Vatican official, and
cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to
* Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae
***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
.
Before becoming a cardinal, he served as the secretary of the papal conclave of 1903 that elected
Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...
, who is said to have accepted his election through Merry del Val's encouragement. Pius X later appointed him as the
Cardinal Secretary of State. Merry del Val's writings and example prompted greater popularity for the
Litany of Humility, which was for some decades incorrectly attributed to him. He was greatly responsible to restoring the privileges to Hispanic countries, which honor him for the devotions and traditionalist practices he fostered by personally signing and executing their petitions to the
Holy Office
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace o ...
.
A cause for his
canonization
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon ca ...
was opened in 1953 at the behest of
Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
. He now has the title
Servant of God
Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint.
Terminology
The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...
.
Early life
He was born as Rafael María José Pedro Francisco Borja Domingo Gerardo de la Santísima Trinidad Merry del Val y Zulueta at the Spanish Embassy in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, the second of four sons of a nobleman,
Rafael Carlos Merry del Val, secretary to the Spanish
legation
A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legation ...
in London.
["Merry del Val Jubilee", ''Time'', January 7, 1929]
/ref> His mother was Sofia Josefa de Zulueta (died 1925), elder daughter of Pedro José de Zulueta, count of Torre Díaz, of the London bank of Zulueta & Co., and his wife, Sophia Ann Wilcox, who was of English ancestry.
The Merrys were originally an Irish Catholic family (the O’Hoolachan family of the County of Connaught) but anglicized their name to Merry in order to avoid the persecution of Roman Catholics that the English were wont to carry out. The O’Hoolachan branch from which Rafael descended were Irish merchants who settled in County Waterford
County Waterford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. ...
in the 18th century before moving to Seville
Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
. In Spain, one Rafael Merry (grandfather of His Eminence) married María Trinidad del Val y Gómez de Sevilla, of Aragonese nobility. María Trinidad, the Cardinal's grandmother, was soon widowed, however, and moved to Madrid as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Isabella II.
His father, also named Rafael, studied law before joining the Diplomatic service. One of his first destinations was to the Spanish embassy in Paris during the time of the Second French Empire
The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...
, during which time he became a close friend of Empress Eugénie de Montijo
Eugénie de Montijo (; born María Eugenia Ignacia Agustina de Palafox y Kirkpatrick; 5 May 1826 – 11 July 1920) was Second French Empire, Empress of the French from her marriage to Napoleon III on 30 January 1853 until he was overthrown on 4 ...
, herself a Spaniard. It was also during this time that he befriended Pedro José de Zulueta y Madariaga, a son of the counts of Torre-Díaz who had established himself as a successful banker under his own firm, Zulueta & Co. The young Rafael was united in matrimony to one of his daughters, Josefina de Zulueta y Willcox, marrying in Madrid on 3 February 1863. Rafael was then sent to London in diplomatic mission. Thus, the couple moved into the house of Josefina's own grandfather, situated on Devonshire Place, 21, where their five children were born: Alfonso, also a diplomat; Rafael, a Roman-Catholic cardinal and Secretary of State to St. Pius X; Pedro, María and Domingo. His elder brother Alfonso was the first Marquess of Merry del Val (b. 1864) and Spanish ambassador to the United Kingdom between 1913 and 1931.
Education
Merry del Val lived in England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
until 1878. His mother's family owned a large villa in Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth
Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...
. He attended a Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
preparatory school in Bournemouth at the time the Society was establishing what were to become five parishes and a school. He received his first Holy Communion at Sacred Heart Church on Richmond Hill, and later enrolled at the northern seminary of Ushaw College in County Durham
County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
, in northern England. He was ordained a priest on 30 December 1888 after receiving a doctorate in philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University
Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy.
The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...
.[ He later received a ]doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
in theology
Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
and then a licentiate in canon law
Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...
.
Domestic prelate, archbishop and cardinal
In 1891 he became a privy chamberlain and member of the Pontifical family, having served as a secretary in nunciatures. Entrusted by Leo XIII with the question of the validity of Anglican orders, he led the Holy See to the negative response in September 1896 with the bull '' Apostolicae curae'', of which he was the main architect. On the basis of this bull, Leo XIII confirmed the "nullity" of the "ordinations carried out with the Anglican rite", denying the apostolic succession
Apostolic succession is the method whereby the Christian ministry, ministry of the Christian Church is considered by some Christian denominations to be derived from the Twelve Apostles, apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been ...
of Bishops of the Church of England.
His continued service in diplomatic posts and in the Roman Curia
The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...
saw him named Apostolic Delegate
An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...
to Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and domestic prelate in 1897 and then president of the Pontifical Academy of Ecclesiastical Nobles (an institution connected to the Roman Curia, in charge of the formation of priests who are to serve in the Diplomatic Corps of the Holy See) in 1899.[ Quadri di Cardano, Gioacchino. "Rafael Merry del Val: an example of humility", Comendadoras de Malta]
/ref> He was appointed 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 Nicaea
Nicaea (also spelled Nicæa or Nicea, ; ), also known as Nikaia (, Attic: , Koine: ), was an ancient Greek city in the north-western Anatolian region of Bithynia. It was the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...
on 19 April 1900 and consecrated a bishop by Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro, Cardinal Secretary of State of Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...
. In 1902 he was the papal representative to the coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra, accompanied by Eugenio Pacelli.
He served as secretary of the conclave of 1903 that elected Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...
. By a coincidence, the secretary of the Sacred Consistorial Congregation, who was also the secretary of the College of Cardinals and therefore of the conclave, had died almost at the same time as Leo XIII. In haste, the cardinals chose as his successor Merry del Val, who had been ordained a bishop only three years before. The choice had been made from a pool of three names. The two rejected candidates were the substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, Giacomo Della Chiesa, and Pietro Gasparri, then serving as the secretary for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs. The preference shown to the youngest and least experienced of the three was interpreted as the first defeat of the Rampolla coalition, and a foreshadowing of what would happen at the conclave.
Austrian veto at papal conclave
According to Merry del Val, during the conclave of 1903, in which he served in the role of Secretary of the Conclave, Cardinal Jan Puzyna de Kosielsko of Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
came to see him, demanding to announce his veto ('' jus exclusivae'') against Cardinal Mariano Rampolla in the name of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary. Merry del Val protested and refused even to accept the document, which in the heat of the debate fell onto the floor and was picked back up by Puzyna.[Von Pastor, p. 696] Puzyna announced the veto anyway, in the presence of the cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel ( ; ; ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and ...
. The College of Cardinals was outraged. Rampolla, according to Merry del Val, actually gained votes after the veto. Yet later, Merry del Val opined to the historian Ludwig von Pastor that Rampolla would never have had a chance of being elected even if the veto had not been announced, because the cardinals wanted a new direction after the pontificate of Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...
, and Rampolla had been permanently associated with that pontificate. After his election, the new Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...
decreed an automatic excommunication
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in Koinonia, communion with other members o ...
for anyone trying to influence a conclave
A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church.
Concerns around ...
with a threat or veto.
Cardinal Secretary of State
After a two-month trial period, Pius X named Merry del Val pro-Secretary of State.[ That November he became the first cardinal elevated by the Pope (a traditional reward to the secretary of a conclave), becoming ]Cardinal-Priest
A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...
of Santa Prassede and full Secretary of State, in place of Rampolla, who was moved to the post of Secretary of the Holy Office.
The praise which Merry del Val received from the Pope on 11 November 1903, the day he received the cardinal's hat, went as follows: "The good odor of Christ, lord cardinal, that you have spread in every place, even in your temporary dwelling, and the many works of charity to which you have dedicated yourself constantly in your priestly ministry, especially in this our city of Rome, have won for you, with admiration, universal esteem."
From '' Pascendi Dominici gregis'' (published in 1907) until 1914, Merry del Val was pro-active in combatting modernism
Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
among the clergy, especially the university professors.[ Nevertheless, he avoided an official canonical acknowledgement of Sodalitium Pianum (in France known as "La Sapinière") and kept a certain distance from the extensive activities of Umberto Benigni; in this attitude he was supported by voices from Germany protesting against an "integralist conspiracy". In 1911, Sodalitium Pianum departed of its own volition from the structure of the Secretariat of State. Church historian Roger Aubert has stated that Merry del Valls' conservative views, as well as his opposition to ]ecumenism
Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...
and to establishing dialogue between the different Christian churches, might have reinforced the ideological positions of Pope Pius X.
Among Merry del Val's diplomatic achievements was the signing of a concordat with Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
barely four days before the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was one of the key events that led to World War I. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg ...
, the Austrian heir-apparent, in Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
on 28 June 1914 plunged Europe into the First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Merry del Val recorded that the "breakthrough" in the difficult negotiations with Belgrade came on the Feast of the Sacred Heart. The Pope and his Cardinal Secretary of State were fully aware that war was imminent. Pius X had already warned a departing Brazilian Ambassador a year earlier that Europe would not "get through 1914" without a major conflagration.
Merry del Val remained Secretary of State throughout the pontificate of Pius X, but when Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...
, an old associate of Rampolla, was elected in the conclave of 1914, Merry del Val was not reappointed. Benedict XV in fact appointed as his Cardinal Secretary of State, first Domenico Ferrata, who died almost immediately, and then Pietro Gasparri. Thus at the head of the Church were the two bishops, della Chiesa (now Pope Benedict XV) and Gasparri, who had been leapfrogged by Merry del Val on the eve of the conclave in 1903. But Benedict XV appointed Merry del Val as secretary of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office on 14 October 1914.
For a man who had been an exceptionally young Secretary of State, the Congregation was considered a lesser though important assignment. The Pope did not appoint Merry del Val as Prefect, because at the time the Popes themselves were Prefects of the Holy Office
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace o ...
. The post of Secretary was then the highest-ranking office in the Dicastery
A dicastery (; ; from ) is the name of some departments in the Roman Curia 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 C ...
.
Merry del Val as secretary was responsible for running the daily affairs of the Holy Office, in which capacity he reportedly explained the Papal policy of '' non possumus'' to Theodor Herzl
Theodor Herzl (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of Types of Zionism, modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organizat ...
and the emerging movement of Zionism
Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
, saying that as long as Jews denied Christ's divinity, the Church could not make a declaration in their favor. When the British Catholic diplomat Mark Sykes visited Merry del Val to speak about the same topic, the Cardinal was somewhat more supportive. He told Sykes that the Holy See would look benignly on the project.
Historian Jean Meyer has remarked Merry del Valls' reactionary and anti-Judaic views. Merry del Val was convinced of the irreconcilable hostility between Christians and Jews, and he also believed that Jews committed ritual murders against Christians. As Secretary of the Congregation of the Holy Office, on 2 April 1928 he ordered the abolition of the Opus sacerdotale Amici Israel.
After the death of Benedict XV (22 January 1922), Merry del Val was retained by Pius XI in the role of Secretary of the Holy Office, which he held until 26 February 1930, when he died unexpectedly in Vatican City
Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...
, aged 64, during an operation for appendicitis.[ The funeral took place in St Peter's Basilica on 3 March 1930 and the Cardinal was buried in the crypt. On 31 July 1931, a new tomb, gift of the Spanish government, was dedicated by Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII.
]
Veneration
The cause of Merry del Val's canonization was introduced on 26 February 1953 under the pontificate of Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
. He therefore has the honorific title Servant of God
Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint.
Terminology
The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...
.
Honours
* (1906) - Grand Cordon in the Order of Leopold.[Handelsblad (Het) 27-04-1906]
Works (partial list)
*
*
*
Notes
Citations
Further reading
*Russell, Charles. “Cardinal Raphael Merry Del Val: Papal Secretary of State.” The Irish Monthly 32, no. 370 (1904): 192–97
*Holmes, J. Derek. “Cardinal Raphael Merry Del Val: An Uncompromising Ultramontane: Gleanings from His Correspondence with England.” The Catholic Historical Review 60, no. 1 (1974): 55–64
*Roy-Lysencourt, Philippe, and Mary J. Gillman. Cardinal Rafael Merry Del Val: A Brief Biography. Catholic University of America Press, 2021
External links
Entry at Catholic-Hierarchy.org site
Wikipedia:Verifiability#Reliable sources,
Biography at ''The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church'' site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merry Del Val, Rafael Cardinal
1865 births
1930 deaths
Spanish untitled nobility
20th-century Spanish cardinals
Apostolic nuncios to Canada
20th-century Roman Catholic titular archbishops
Spanish Roman Catholic titular archbishops
20th-century venerated Christians
Cardinal Secretaries of State
Members of the Holy Office
Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni
Pontifical Gregorian University alumni
Burials at St. Peter's Basilica
Cardinals created by Pope Pius X
Spanish Servants of God
Presidents of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy
Alumni of Ushaw College
Late Modern Christian anti-Judaism