Sebastián Herrero y Espinosa de los Monteros C.O. (20 January 1822 – 9 December 1903) was a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who beginning in 1875 served briefly as the Bishop of Cuenca, Vitoria, and Oviedo, and then 15 years as Bishop of Cordoba. In his last appointment he was Archbishop of Valencia from 1898 until his death in 1903. He became a cardinal less than six months before his death.

Biography

Sebastián Herrero y Espinosa de los Monteros was born on 20 January 1822 in

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway bet ...

, Spain. He obtained a degree in civil and canon law at the

University of Seville The University of Seville (''Universidad de Sevilla'') is a university in Seville, Spain. Founded under the name of ''Colegio Santa María de Jesús'' in 1505, it has a present student body of over 69.200, and is one of the top-ranked universi ...

. He was a poet and playwright, and he contributed to several newspapers. In 1856 he became a member of the

Oratory of Saint Philip Neri The Confederation of Oratories of Saint Philip Neri ( la, Confoederatio Oratorii Sancti Philippi Nerii) abbreviated CO and commonly known as the Oratorians is a Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men (priests and lay- ...

. He was ordained a priest in 1860 and became rector of the seminary in Cadiz. He was vicar general of the Diocese of Cadiz from 1866 to 1868 and canon archpriest of the cathedral. On 17 September 1875, Pope Pius IX appointed him

Bishop of Cuenca The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cuenca ( la, Conchen(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Cuenca in the Ecclesiastical province of Toledo in Spain.

. He was consecrated bishop on 30 November by José Félix Arriete Llano, Bishop of Cadiz. On 18 December 1876 he was transferred to the

Diocese of Vitoria The Roman Catholic Diocese of Vitoria ( la, Victorien(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz in the Ecclesiastical province of Burgos in Spain. History * September 8, 1861: Established as Diocese of Vitoria from the Metropoli ...

. In 1880, because of health problems, he gave up his bishopric and retired to

Sanlúcar de Barrameda Sanlúcar de Barrameda (), or simply Sanlúcar, is a city in the northwest of Cádiz province, part of the autonomous community of Andalucía in southern Spain. Sanlúcar is located on the left bank at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River opposit ...

. On 27 March 1882,

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

named him

Bishop of Oviedo The Archdiocese of Oviedo ( la, Oveten(sis), links=no) is an Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Spain.

and then transferred him Cordoba on 15 March 1883. On 24 March 1898, Pope Leo promoted him to Archbishop of Valencia. Pope Leo XIII made him a

cardinal-priest 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 ...

in the consistory of 22 June 1903 and died before Herrero could be invested with the symbols of that office. Herrero, very ill himself, nevertheless participated in the conclave of 1903 that elected Pope Pius X and received his red hat from Pius X, who assigned him the titular church of

Santi Bonifacio ed Alessio The Basilica dei Santi Bonifacio e(d) Alessio is a basilica, rectory church served by the Somaschans, and titular church for a cardinal-priest on the Aventine Hill in the third prefecture of central Rome, Italy. It is dedicated to Saint Boni ...

on 7 August 1903. He died in Valencia on 9 December 1903.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Sebastián Cardinal Herrero y Espinosa de los Monteros, C.O.

The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Herrero y Espinosa de los Monteros, Orat., Sebastián (1822-1903)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrero y Espinosa de los Monteros, Sebastián 1822 births 1903 deaths People from Jerez de la Frontera 19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Spain Cardinals created by Pope Leo XIII