Cardinal Rafael Merry Del Val (1965-1930)

Today marks the death of Cardinal Rafael Merry Del Val (1865-1930), papal diplomat and cardinal. Born Rafael María José Pedro Francisco Borja Domingo Gerardo de la Santísma Trinidad Merry del Val y Zulueta in London to a Spanish diplomat father and an English mother, he lived in England until he was thirteen. Ordained in 1888, he entered the Vatican’s diplomatic service. In 1899 he was appointed head of the Academy for Noble Ecclasiastics, the school for training papal diplomats. In 1900, at 35, he was ordained Titular Archbishop of Nicaea. In 1903 he served as secretary of the papal conclave that elected Pope St. Pius X. He is said to have persuaded the pontiff to accept. Not long thereafter, he was appointed Cardinal Secretary of State. This was no easy job. (The Cardinal Secretary of State is sometimes known as the Pope’s prime minister.) Some of the problem he faced included a rift between church and state in France; revolutions in Spain, Portugal, and Mexico; and anticlericalism in Italy. After St. Pius’ death, he was transferred to the Holy Office (once known as the Inquisition and now known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith), where he remained until his death in 1930. His canonization cause is currently under consideration.