College of Cardinals

Biographical notes

[Updated: 15.01.2014]

Notice: the biographical notes are only a working instrument for the press.

Cardinal Santos Abril y Castelló, Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of St Mary Major, Vice-Camerlengo of the of the Holy Roman Church, was born on 21 September 1935 in Alfambra, Spain.

He was ordained a priest on 19 March 1960 and exercised his pastoral ministry in the diocese of Teruel. One year later, he was sent to Rome to specialize in canon law and social sciences. After having received a doctorate from the Pontifical Gregorian University and a degree from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, he entered in 1963 the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. In 1967, he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He served as secretary at the nunciatures in Pakistan and in Turkey.

On 29 April 1985, he was appointed titular Archbishop of Tamada and received episcopal ordination on 16 June 1985. At the same time, he was nominated apostolic nuncio in Bolivia.

On 2 October 1989, was appointed pro-nuncio in Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. On 24 February 1996, he was appointed nuncio in the then Yugoslavia. He was elected spokesman of the diplomatic corps in Belgrade.
He also served in Argentina (2000-2003); Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina (2003-2011), and in Macedonia (2004-2011).

In January 2011, he was appointed Vice-Camerlengo of the of the Holy Roman Church.

On 21 November 2011, he was appointed Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major.

Member of:

• Congregations: for the Causes of Saints, for the Evangelization of Peoples, for Bishops;

• Cardinal Commission for the Supervision of the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR).

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