Juan José Asenjo Pelegrina (born 15 October 1945) is a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who was the Archbishop of Seville from 5 November 2009 until his retirement on 17 April 2021.

Biography

Juan José Asenjo Pelegrina was born in

Sigüenza Sigüenza () is a city in the Serranía de Guadalajara comarca, Province of Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. History The site of the ancient ''Segontia'' ('dominating over the valley') of the Celtiberian Arevaci, now called ('old to ...

on 15 October 1945. He entered the seminary and studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and philosophy. He was ordained a priest on 21 September 1969. In 1971 he received a licentiate in

at the Theological Faculty of

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of ...

. From 1977 to 1979 he attended courses for a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

Church history __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritua ...

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 ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. He also holds a Diploma in Archives and Library Science at the

Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...

and archiving the

Vatican Secret Archives The Vatican Apostolic Archive ( la, Archivum Apostolicum Vaticanum; it, Archivio Apostolico Vaticano), formerly known as the Vatican Secret Archive, is the central repository in the Vatican City of all acts promulgated by the Holy See. The Pont ...

. He served as professor of

ecclesiology In Christian theology, ecclesiology is the study of the Church (congregation), Church, the origins of Christianity, its relationship to Jesus, its role in salvation, its ecclesiastical polity, polity, its Church discipline, discipline, its escha ...

and history of the Church at the seminary of Sigüenza from 1971 to 1974. He also held the positions of vice-

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the seminary (1974–1977), director of the university residence "Ntra. Sra. De la Estrella" on Sigüenza (1979–1988), director of the diocesan archive (1979–1981), diocesan director for education (1980–1982), canon in charge of the artistic heritage (1985–1997), diocesan director for cultural heritage 1985-1993), vice rector of the sanctuary of "Nuestra Señora de la Salud" of Barbatona (1994–1997). From 1993 to 1997 he was undersecretary of the

Episcopal Conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...

. In 1986 he founded and directed the magazine ''Abside'' and is the author of several publications. On 27 February 1997,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed him

Titular Bishop 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 ...

of Iziriana and Auxiliary Bishop of Toledo. He received episcopal consecration on 20 April that year. From 1998 to 2003, he was Secretary General of the Spanish Episcopal Conference. Pope John Paul appointed him Bishop of Córdoba on 28 July 2003.

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 soverei ...

named him Coadjutor Archbishop of Seville on 13 November 2008, and he became Archbishop of Seville on 5 November 2009, when Pope Benedict accepted the resignation of his predecessor, Cardinal Carlos Amigo Vallejo.

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. ...

accepted his resignation on 17 April 2021.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Asenjo Pelegrina, Juan Living people 1945 births People from the Province of Guadalajara 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Spain Roman Catholic archbishops of Seville Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Spanish expatriates in Italy