Félix del Blanco Prieto (June 15, 1937 – April 10, 2021) was a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who spent his career in the diplomatic service of the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

, including stints heading the missions in countries such as

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

and

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

among other countries. He was then appointed Almoner of the office of Papal Charities in 2007 and retired from the same position in 2012.

Biography

Early life.

Félix del Blanco Prieto was born in Morgovejo,

Castilla y León Castile, Castille or Castilla may refer to: Places Spain * Castile (historical region), a vaguely defined historical region of Spain covering most of Castile and León, all of the Community of Madrid and most of Castilla–La Mancha * Kingdom o ...

, Spain, on June 15, 1937.

Career

He was ordained a priest on May 27, 1961. He served as secretary to Secretary of State Cardinal Agostino Casaroli. On May 31, 1991,

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 ...

named him a titular archbishop, Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main isla ...

, and Apostolic Delegate to

. He received his episcopal consecration from Cardinal

Agostino Casaroli Agostino Casaroli (24 November 1914 – 9 June 1998) was an Italian Catholic priest and diplomat for the Holy See, who became Cardinal Secretary of State. He was an important figure behind the Vatican's efforts to deal with the religious persec ...

on 6 July 1991. On May 5, 1996, Pope John Paul appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon, adding the title Apostolic Nuncio to Equatorial Guinea on 28 June. On June 5, 2003, Pope John Paul named him Apostolic Nuncio to Malta and added the title Apostolic Nuncio to Libya on 24 June. On July 28, 2007,

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 ...

named him Papal Almoner. Pope Benedict accepted his resignation on November 3, 2012.

Death

He died in Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic on April 10, 2021 at the age of 83. Pope Francis was present at Monsignor Felix del Blanco Prieto's private funeral. The funeral service commenced at 12 noon and was officiated by the Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, at the Altar of the Chair in Saint Peter’s Basilica.

References

External links