Francisco Javier Martínez Fernández (born 20 December 1947) is a Spanish

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the Catholic Church. He was the bishop of Córdoba from 1996 to 2003 and the

archbishop of Granada In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archd ...

from 2003 to 2023.

Biography

Born in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, Martínez Fernández graduated in Biblical theology from the

Comillas Pontifical University Comillas Pontifical University () is a private Catholic Church, Catholic university run by the Spanish Province of the Society of Jesus in Madrid, Madrid, Spain. The university is involved in a number of academic exchange programmes, work practi ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

a priest at the age of 25 on 3 April 1972. He served in the parish of Casarrubuelos in the

Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities and 50 provinces of Spain, provinces of Spain. It is located at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula and Meseta Central, Central Plateau (); its capital and largest munici ...

. He then joined a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

as a teacher of

Christology In Christianity, Christology is a branch of Christian theology, theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would b ...

and introduction to the Bible. In 1979, Martínez Fernández enrolled at the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

to study Syriac language and literature, and was assistant to the professor from 1981 to 1983. He obtained a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree and then a doctorate in

Semitic languages The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. They include Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya language, Tigrinya, Aramaic, Hebrew language, Hebrew, Maltese language, Maltese, Modern South Arabian language ...

. In 1984 he returned to Spain to teach

patristics Patristics, also known as Patrology, is a branch of theological studies focused on the writings and teachings of the Church Fathers, between the 1st to 8th centuries CE. Scholars analyze texts from both orthodox and heretical authors. Patristics e ...

and theology at a seminary in Madrid. Martínez Fernández was named Spain's youngest bishop on 11 May 1985, serving as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Madrid-Alcalá until March 1986. From 15 March 1986 to 15 March 2003 he was the bishop of Córdoba. He was then named

, succeeding

Antonio Cañizares Llovera Antonio Cañizares Llovera (; born 15 October 1945) is a Spanish Catholic cardinal who served as Archbishop of Valencia from 2014 to 2022. He was prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 2008 t ...

who had become

archbishop of Toledo The Archdiocese of Toledo () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Spain.

and primate of all Spain; the succession was effective from 1 June, following Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

's visit to Spain. In December 2007, Martínez Fernández became Spain's first archbishop to be taken to court as a defendant in a civil case. In what the judge called a "peculiar and unusual case", he was made to pay €3,750 in damages to the similarly named priest Francisco Javier Martínez Medina for coercion and insults. Martínez Fernández had wanted Martínez Medina to not publish a book on

Granada Cathedral The Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Incarnation (), is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Granada, Spain. The cathedral is the seat of the Archdiocese of Granada. Like many other cathedrals in Andalusia, it was built on top of the ...

that was financed by

CajaSur CajaSur is a Spanish savings bank that is owned by Kutxabank. It has offices in Andalusia and Extremadura. History Until 2011, CajaSur was a Spanish savings bank, run by the priests in the Catholic Church, located in Córdoba, Spain Córdob ...

, a bank that Martínez Fernández had been in conflict with. In the Romanones case in 2014, a man from Granada wrote to

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

about his experience of sexual abuse in the church. Martínez Fernández prostrated himself during Mass to ask for forgiveness, and in 2017 was a witness against the alleged abuser, who was acquitted. In July 2021, Martínez Fernández spoke out against Spain's transgender rights bill and euthanasia in the country. He said that the transgender law "turns feelings into a legal category. This isn't the first time that happened. In the 1930s and 40s, the feeling of Aryan supremacy led to millions of deaths when it bacame law". After turning 75 years old, Martínez Fernández's resignation was accepted and on 1 February 2023 he was succeeded by

José María Gil Tamayo José María Gil Tamayo (born 5 June 1957) is a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Granada, Granada since his installation on 1 February 2023. He pre ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez Fernandez, Francisco Javier 1947 births Living people Clergy from Madrid Comillas Pontifical University alumni Catholic University of America alumni Bishops of Córdoba Archbishops of Granada Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II 20th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests