Francisco Álvarez Martínez (14 July 1925 – 5 January 2022) was a Spanish prelate of the

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 ...

who was

archbishop 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 archdi ...

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 ...

from 1995 to 2002. He was bishop of

Tarazona Tarazona is a town and municipality in the Tarazona y el Moncayo comarca, province of Zaragoza (province), Zaragoza, in Aragon, Spain. It is the capital of the Tarazona y el Moncayo Aragonese comarca. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Dio ...

from 1973 to 1976, of Calahorra y La Calzada-Logroño from 1976 to 1989, and of Orihuela-Alicante from 1989 to 1995. He was created a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

in 2001.

Biography

Álvarez Martínez was born in the parish of Santa Eulalia de Ferroñes in

Llanera, Asturias Llanera is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Gijón and Corvera de Asturias, on the south by Oviedo, on the east by Gijón and Siero, and on the west by Illas and Las ...

, on 14 July 1925. He studied at the seminary in Oviedo and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Oviedo on 11 June 1950. He served as the archbishop's secretary from 1950 to 1956 and was chancellor of the archdiocese from 1957 to 1969. He studied canon law at 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 ...

from 1955 to 1958 and then earned a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of Comillas in 1962. He was appointed bishop of Tarazona on 13 April 1973 by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

. He was consecrated by

Luigi Dadaglio Luigi Dadaglio (28 September 1914 – 22 August 1990) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal and Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary. Early life He was born in Sezzadio, Italy. He was educated at the Seminary of Acqui. He was ordained ...

Apostolic Nuncio to Spain The Apostolic Nunciature to the Kingdom of Spain is an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in Spain. It is a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio with the rank of an ambassador. For much of ...

, assisted by Pedro Cantero Cuadrado, Archbishop of Zaragoza, and José Méndez Asensio, Archbishop of Pamplona. He was transferred to the see of Calahora y La Calzada-Logroño on 20 December 1976 and then to the see of Orihuela-Alicante on 12 May 1989. He was appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of Toledo on 23 June 1995. He was made

Cardinal Priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

of Santa Maria Regina Pacis a Monte Verde in the consistory of 21 February 2001 by

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 ...

. Pope John Paul accepted his resignation as Archbishop of Toledo on 24 October 2002. Three months before his 80th birthday, Álvarez Martínez was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the

2005 papal conclave A papal conclave was held on 18 and 19 April 2005 to elect a new pope to succeed John Paul II, who had died on 2 April 2005. Of the 117 eligible cardinal electors, all but two attended. On the fourth ballot, the conclave elected Cardinal Josep ...

that elected

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

. Álvarez Martínez died in a Madrid hospital after a long illness on 5 January 2022, at the age of 96.

References

External links

* *
Catholic-Hierarchy.org Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez Martinez, Francisco 1925 births 2022 deaths 21st-century Spanish cardinals Archbishops of Toledo Bishops of Tarazona Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II People from Llanera, Asturias Comillas Pontifical University alumni