The Servant of God Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val y Zulueta (October 10, 1865 – February 26, 1930) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal (Cardinal Priest of Santa Prassede) from 1903 until his death. He was born in London to Josefina de Zulueta and Rafael Merry del Val, Marquis of Merry del Val, a Spanish diplomat and nobleman of partial Irish ancestry, and lived in the United Kingdom until 1878. October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in Leap years). ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... February 26 is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official in the Roman Catholic Church, a member of the College of Cardinals, ranking below the Pope and appointed by him during a consistory of the College. ... Cardinal Priests are the most numerous of the three orders of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church. ... Inside of Santa Prassede. ... 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... This page is about negotiations; for the board game, see Diplomacy (game). ... 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

He was ordained a priest on October 30, 1888, after achieving a doctorate in philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University, which he later followed up with a doctorate in theology and licentiate in Canon law. In 1891 he became a privy chamberlain and member of the Pontifical Family, having served as a secretary in nunciatures. His continued service in the diplomatic service and Roman Curia saw him named Apostolic Delegate to Canada and domestic prelate in 1897, and President of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1899. October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 62 days remaining. ... 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... The Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University is a Roman Catholic university in Rome. ... Theology (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογια, logia, words, sayings, or discourse) is reasoned discourse concerning religion, spirituality and gods. ... Licentiate is the title of a person who holds an academic degree called a license. ... Canon Law is the ecclesiastical law of the Roman Catholic Church. ... 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Monsignor is an ecclesiastical honorific title for clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. ... An Apostolic Nunciature is a top level diplomatic mission of the Holy See, equivalent to an embassy or to a High Commission between members of the Commonwealth. ... The Roman Curia - usually (but simplistically) called the Vatican - is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See, coordinating and providing the necessary organisation for the correct functioning of the Catholic Church and the achievement of its goals. ... From the ancient Latin Nuntius, meaning any envoy. ... Monsignor is an ecclesiastical honorific title for clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

He was appointed Titular Archbishop of Nicaea on April 19, 1900 and consecrated a bishop by Mariano Rampolla. He served as secretary of the conclave of 1903 that elected Pope Pius X, and almost immediately thereafter was named pro-Secretary of State by the new Pope. That November he became the first Cardinal elevated by the Pope (a traditional reward to the secretary of a conclave) and full Cardinal Secretary of State, replacing Rampolla. Bishop Richard Pates, current auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and the Titular Bishop of Suacia. ... Iznik (formerly Nicaea) is a city in Anatolia (now part of Turkey) which is known primarily as the site of two major meetings (or Ecumenical councils) in the early history of the Christian church. ... April 19 is the 109th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (110th in leap years). ... 1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, but a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. ... Two bishops assist at the Exhumation of Saint Hubert, who was a bishop too, at the église Saint-Pierre in Liège. ... Mariano Rampolla (Full name Count Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro) was born on August 17, 1843 in Poizzi, Sicily, and died on December 17, 1913, in Rome. ... The Papal conclave of 1903 was caused by the death of the 93 year old Pope Leo XIII, who at that stage was the third longest reigning pope in history. ... Pope Saint Pius X ( Latin: ) (June 2, 1835 — August 20, 1914), born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was Pope from 1903 to 1914, succeeding Pope Leo XIII (1878–1903). ... The Cardinal Secretary of State presides over the Vatican Secretariat of State, which is the oldest and most important dicastery of the Roman Curia. ...

He remained Secretary of State throughout the pontificate of Pius X, and when Pope Benedict XV, an old associate of Rampolla, was elected in the conclave of 1914 he was not reappointed. Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ), (Italian: Benedetto XV), (November 21, 1854 – January 22, 1922), born Giacomo della Chiesa, reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from September 3, 1914 to January 22, 1922; he succeeded Pope Pius X (1903–14). ... The Papal conclave of 1914 was held to choose a successor Pope Pius X, who had died in the Vatican on 20 August 1914. ...

From 1907's Pascendi Dominici Gregis until 1914 Merry del Val also was active in combatting modernism among the clergy, especially among the university professors who spread this immanentist collection of heresies. 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Pascendi Dominici Gregis was a Papal encyclical promulgated by Pope Pius X in 1910. ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Modernism was a term used by Pope Pius X to describe the doctrines of a group of theologians (chiefly Alfred Loisy and George Tyrell), notably the assumption that the Christian Church and its dogma are human institutions that have evolved in time like other institutions, and which are expressed like... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ...

However, Benedict appointed him Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office on October 14, 1914 in succession to his replacement as Secretary of State, Domenico Cardinal Ferrata, who had in turn replaced Rampolla in that position on Rampolla's death. The post of Secretary was then the highest ranking office of the Congregation after the Pope, who held the title of Prefect himself. The secretary, however, was responsible for running the daily affairs of the Holy Office. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) is the oldest of the nine congregations of the Roman Curia. ... October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Domenico Cardinal Ferrata (March 4, 1847-October 10, 1914) was an Italian Roman Catholic Cardinal who spent the bulk of his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and in the Roman Curia. ...

Merry del Val was confirmed in the position of Secretary of the Holy Office upon the election of Pope Pius XI in 1922, and remained in this position for the rest of his life. Pope Pius XI (Latin: ) (May 31, 1857 – February 10, 1939), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, reigned as Pope from February 6, 1922 and sovereign of Vatican City from 1929 until his death on February 10, 1939. ...

He died on February 26, 1930 of appendicitis. He is buried in the popes' crypt in St. Peter's Basilica. February 26 is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... Appendicitis, or epityphlitis, is a condition characterised by inflammation of the appendix. ... This article is about the famous building in Rome. ...

External links and references

• Entry at Catholic-Hierarchy.org site
• Biography at The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church site
• Cardinal Merry del Val May be somewhat inaccurate.