Pope Leo XIV has congratulated Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela on his fifty years as a bishop with a letter highlighting “his solicitude and fidelity in the communion of the Holy Church” and stating that the Archbishop Emeritus of Madrid “has worthily fulfilled his duties in charity and obedience”. The Apostolic Nuncio to Spain, Piero Pioppo, read the letter on Saturday, October 31, in the Cathedral of Santa María la Real de la Almudena during the thanksgiving Mass for the anniversary, attended by more than twenty cardinals and bishops, according to reports in Alfa y Omega, the archdiocesan weekly, and El Debate.
Rouco received his episcopal ordination on October 31, 1976, in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela as auxiliary bishop of that archdiocese, appointed by Paul VI, so the Mass was celebrated exactly half a century later. In the letter, the Pope joins the celebration “for the joyful event,” recalls the cardinal’s long pastoral mission in the ecclesial communities entrusted to him, and thanks him for his “diligent work carried out with care in the Spanish Episcopal Conference and in the various dicasteries of the Apostolic See.” The text concludes with the apostolic blessing.
Alongside the Nuncio, the President of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Luis Argüello, and the Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal José Cobo, also took part in the celebration, as well as the titular, emeritus, and elected bishops of the archdiocese, and more than 150 priests, religious, seminarians, and laypeople. Cobo praised Rouco’s twenty years of governance in Madrid and presented him with the Honorary Medal of the Archdiocese, awarded for the first time.
In his homily, the cardinal, who turned 90 last August 20, reviewed his ministry and said that “we place in the Lord’s hands an entire life dedicated to the ministry.” He recalled the popes who have marked his episcopate, from Paul VI, who appointed him bishop, to John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis, and on the eve of All Saints’ Day he offered the faithful a reflection on holiness: “What matters in life is whether one wants to be holy or not, whether one tries or gives up.” He also proposed some examination questions for his own life, including whether he had gone without fear to where the Lord sent him and whether he had preached Jesus Christ and not himself, according to El Debate. He also remembered the victims of the Urda train accident and their families.
In an interview with Alfa y Omega published the same day, Rouco summarized his life in one phrase: “The Lord has granted me to remain united to Him.” Asked about the most difficult decision he had made, he replied: “Accepting to be a bishop. It was an absolute surprise that they had thought of me.” He recounted that he learned of his appointment at the end of June that year, in the Cathedral of Huesca, when the Nuncio showed him the letter, and said he believes that young people “can respond again when they are spoken to about Christ.”
Rouco’s career spans half a century of the Church in Spain. He spent eighteen years in Santiago, first as auxiliary and from 1984 as archbishop, a period in which he played a prominent role in the 1989 World Youth Day. John Paul II transferred him to Madrid in 1994 and created him cardinal in the consistory of February 21, 1998. He governed the Archdiocese of Madrid until 2014, presided over the Spanish Episcopal Conference in two terms, from 1999 to 2005 and from 2008 to 2014, and hosted the 2011 World Youth Day in Madrid, presided over by Benedict XVI. Francis accepted his resignation due to age on August 28, 2014.
On the occasion of the anniversary, the Archdiocese of Madrid has presented him as one of the most relevant bishops in the history of the post-conciliar Spanish Church. The letter from Leo XIV, read before a large part of the episcopate, places the Pope’s signature on that judgment: fidelity in communion, fulfillment of duties in charity and obedience, and work in the Episcopal Conference and in the Roman Curia.
Read also