Vicente Enrique y Tarancon

Vicente Enrique y Tarancón was a Spanish cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Madrid from 1971 to 1983, and as president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference from 1971 to 1981, during the difficult years of the Spanish transition to democracy. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1969. He was born in Burriana, a town in the province of Castellón, to a family of farmers. He attended the seminaries in Tortosa and Valencia, and was ordained a priest in 1929. He did pastoral work in the Diocese of Tortosa until 1933, when he moved to Madrid to work with Catholic Action. He returned to Tortosa in 1938, after the Spanish Civil War. In 1945, he was appointed Bishop of Solsona by Pope Pius XII. He attended the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965, where he supported the reforms proposed by Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI. He was later named Archbishop of Oviedo in 1964, and Archbishop of Toledo in 1969. As Archbishop of Toledo, he also became the Primate of Spain. In 1969, he was created a cardinal by Pope Paul VI. He became the Apostolic Administrator of Madrid-Alcalá in 1971, after the death of Archbishop Casimiro Morcillo González, and was appointed Archbishop of Madrid in 1973. He also became the president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference in 1971, a position he held until 1981. He was one of the most influential figures in the Spanish Church during the transition from Franco's dictatorship to democracy. He advocated for dialogue, reconciliation, and respect for human rights among all sectors of society. He also faced opposition and threats from some extreme right-wing groups who accused him of being a traitor and a communist. He participated in the conclaves of August and October 1978, which elected Popes John Paul I and John Paul II respectively. He resigned as Madrid's archbishop in 1983, and retired to a private estate near his hometown. He died in Valencia in 1994, at the age of 87. He is buried in the Collegiate of San Isidro, in Madrid.