Fernando Sebastián Aguilar CMF (; 14 December 1929 – 24 January 2019) was a Spanish cardinal of the

Roman Catholic Church 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 ...

and the Archbishop Emeritus of Pamplona y Tudela. Pope Francis elevated him to the rank of cardinal in a consistory on February 22, 2014.

Biography and Education

Sebastián Aguilar was born in Calatayud, Province of Zaragoza on 14 December 1929. He entered the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (

Claretians The Claretians, officially named the Congregation of Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (; abbreviated CMF), is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men headquartered in Rome. It was f ...

) and made his religious profession on 8 September 1946. After completing his studies in philosophy and theology in the seminaries of the congregation, he was ordained a priest on 28 June 1953. Sebastián Aguilar obtained a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum in 1957 with a dissertation entitled “Maternitatis divinae diversa ratio apud Didacum Alvarez et Franciscum Suarez”. He became a member of the Sociedad Mariológica Española in 1959 and served as director of the Revista Ephemerides Mariologicae in 1966. In the same year, he founded the Iglesia Viva journal, which he directed until 1971. Sebastián Aguilar also taught dogmatic theology in his religious congregation in Valls and Salamanca. He then served as professor, from 1967, and subsequently rector, from 1971 to 1979, of the

Pontifical University of Salamanca The Pontifical University of Salamanca (in Spanish (language), Spanish: ''Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca'') is a Private university, private Catholic university, Roman Catholic university based in Salamanca, Spain. History This Pontifica ...

Episcopate

Sebastián Aguilar was the archbishop emeritus of Pamplona y Tudela, having served as archbishop from 26 March 1993 until 31 July 2007, when he was succeeded by Francisco Pérez González. Prior to this, he was Bishop of León from 22 August 1979 until 28 July 1983, when he stepped down. He became archbishop co-adjutor of

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

on 8 April 1988, but did not succeed to that see because he was appointed to the aforementioned Pamplona y Tudela.

Cardinal

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 ...

announced on 12 January 2014 that on 22 February, Archbishop Sebastián Aguilar, along with 18 other individuals, would be inducted into the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...

.Pope Francis announces names of new Cardinals
- Vatican Radio, 12 January 2014

Death

Sebastián Aguilar died on 24 January 2019 in

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

at the age of 89 after having suffered a severe stroke just a few days prior on 20 January.

References

External links