Juan Soldevilla y Romero

Juan Soldevilla y Romero (October 29, 1843 – June 4, 1923) was a Spanish Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Zaragoza from 1901 until his death, and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1919.

His Eminence

Juan Soldevilla y Romero
Cardinal, Archbishop of Zaragoza
ChurchRoman Catholic
ArchdioceseZaragoza
Installed1901
Term ended4 June 1923
PredecessorVicente Alda Sancho
SuccessorRigoberto Doménech Valls
Other postsCardinal-Priest of Santa Maria del Popolo
Orders
Ordination28 December 1867
Consecration28 April 1889
Created cardinal15 December 1919
by Benedict XV
RankCardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born(1843-10-20)October 20, 1843
Fuentelapeña Spain
DiedJune 4, 1923(1923-06-04) (aged 79)
Zaragoza Spain
BuriedBasilica of Our Lady of the Pillar
NationalitySpanish
Previous postBishop of Tarazona (1889–1901)
Styles of
Juan Soldevilla y Romero
Reference styleHis Eminence
Spoken styleYour Eminence
Informal styleCardinal
SeeZaragoza

Biography

Juan Soldevilla y Romero was born in Fuentelapeña, and studied at the seminaries in Valladolid and Toledo before being ordained to the priesthood on December 28, 1867. He obtained his doctorate in theology from the Central Seminary of Santiago de Compostela in 1868, and then studied canon law at the seminary in Tuy.

Soldevilla served as a curate in three parishes in the Archdiocese of Valladolid, and became secretary to the Archbishop, Cesáreo Rodrigo y Rodríguez (1875), a cathedral canon (1883), and an archpriest (1887). Along with sitting on the Provincial Junta of Beneficence and on the Diocesan Junta for the Reconstruction of Churches, he was the Royal Preacher and a Knight of the Royal American Order of Isabel la Católica, a secretary capitular, and synodal examiner. In 1885, he was a member of the Junta for the assistance of victims of a cholera epidemic.

On February 14, 1889, Soldevilla was appointed Bishop of Tarazona by Pope Leo XIII. He received his episcopal consecration on the following April 28 from Archbishop Benito Sanz y Forés, with Bishops Mariano Alguacil y Fernández and Cesáreo Rodrigo y Rodríguez. Soldevilla was Apostolic Administrator of Tudela from 1889 to 1901, and was promoted to Archbishop of Zaragoza on December 16, 1901.

Pope Benedict XV created him Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria del Popolo in the consistory of December 15, 1919. He received his cardinal's biretta from King Alphonse XIII on Christmas Day of that same year. Soldevilla was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 1922 papal conclave, which selected Pope Pius XI.

At age 79, Cardinal Soldevilla was assassinated by the anarchist group Los Solidarios in Zaragoza. The apparent motive for the killing was the fact that the Cardinal had been implicated by the anarchists in the hiring and protection of pistoleros who had carried out a campaign of white terror against Spanish union members.[1] He is buried at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar.

References

  1. Paz, Able (2007). Durruti in the Spanish Revolution. Oakland, CA: AK Press. pp. 44& 45. ISBN 978-1-904859-50-5.
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Cosme Marrodán Rubio
Bishop of Tarazona
18891901
Succeeded by
José Salvador y Barrera
Preceded by
Antonio Cascajares y Azara
Archbishop of Zaragoza
19011923
Succeeded by
Rigoberto Domenech y Valls
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