Pope Leo delivers eulogy for anti-modernist hero
Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val (1865–1930) was a strong advocate of anti-modernism and opposed the reconciliation of the Church with the Jews. The Pope has now delivered a eulogy for him – focusing on his modesty.
Pope Leo XIV has delivered a eulogy for the Spanish Curia Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val, who died in 1930. The cleric served as Cardinal Secretary of State from 1903 to 1914 and then Secretary of the Vatican's Office for the Doctrine of the Faith until his death. He is considered a representative of a clearly anti-modernist and anti-Judaic course in church policy.
The Pope now honored Merry del Val for his personal modesty and for his pastoral commitment to disadvantaged youth in Rome. The speech, delivered in Spanish, was released by the Vatican Press Office on Monday. The occasion was an audience for members of a Spanish association that cultivates the cardinal's spiritual legacy.
Recognition of his diplomatic work
The Pope emphasized that Merry del Val was "a docile instrument in the diplomatic service of the Holy See in very challenging times" and a tireless pastor. He was one of the "most important figures in Vatican diplomacy of the 20th century." Leo XIV did not address the conservative cardinal's controversial ecclesiastical and dogmatic decisions.
Among other things, Merry del Val brought about the banning of the ecclesiastical association "Friends of Israel"
(Cathcon: Opus sacerdotale Amici Israel whose members included the magnificent liturgist Blessed Idlephonse Cardinal Schuster. See Pope Benedict XV and Zionism and Pope Pius XI and Judaism)
in 1928. This association had strived for reconciliation between the Catholic Church and Judaism and to overcome the verdict of "Jews as deicides." It also advocated for a reform of the Good Friday prayer "for the faithless Jews," which was steeped in the spirit of anti-Judaism and had been prayed in all Catholic churches for more than a thousand years. The prayer was gradually amended starting in 1956 and today respectfully speaks of the Jews as those to whom God spoke first.
The Pope's speech
This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the participants in the Study Meeting on Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val (Merry del Val Family), to whom he delivered the following address:
Good morning!
Dear brothers and sisters,
On the commemoration of the 160th anniversary of his birth, we give thanks to the Lord for the servant of God Rafael Mery del Val, who was born in London in 1865, in an environment in which openness to the world was part of everyday life: the son of a Spanish diplomat and an English mother, he had a cosmopolitan childhood that accustomed him from an early age to different languages and cultures. He grew up in an atmosphere of universality, which he would later recognize as the vocation of the Church, and this formation prepared him to be a docile instrument in the diplomatic service of the Holy See at a time marked by great challenges.
At a very young age, he was called to the service of Leo XIII to deal with delicate matters. Shortly thereafter, he was sent as apostolic delegate to Canada, where he worked for the unity of the Church and for Catholic education. He was a student at the current Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, an institution he would later preside over and which today, as it celebrates 325 years of history, recalls its long tradition of forming hearts in the faithful and generous service of the Apostolic See. There he came to understand — and to transmit by his example — that the diplomacy of the Church flourishes when it is lived within priestly fidelity, that of a heart that offers its talents to Christ and to the mission entrusted to the Successor of Peter (cf. 1 Cor 4:1-2).
He was just thirty-five years old when he was appointed titular archbishop of Nicaea, and a few years later, in 1903, at just thirty-eight, Saint Pius X made him cardinal and appointed him as his Secretary of State. His youth, however, was not an obstacle, as the history of the Church teaches that true maturity does not depend on age, but on identification with the measure of Christ's fullness (cf. Eph 4:13). What followed was a path of fidelity, discretion and dedication that made him one of the most significant figures in papal diplomacy in the twentieth century.
However, he was not only an office diplomat: in Rome he was very present among the children and young people of Trastevere, whom he catechized, confessed and accompanied with kindness. There he was recognised as a close priest, father and friend. This dual dimension – that of government diplomat and approachable pastor — is what gives his figure a particular richness, for he knew how to combine service to the universal Church with concrete attention to the least among us (cf. 1 Pet 5:2-3).
His name has become associated with a prayer that many of us know, the Litany of Humility. There we see the spirit with which he carried out his service. Allow me to dwell on some of the litanies, because they outline a model that is valid for all those who exercise responsibilities in the Church and in the world, and in a special way for the diplomats of the Holy See.
“From the desire of being esteemed... deliver me, O Jesus!” The desire for recognition is a constant temptation for those in positions of responsibility. Cardinal Merry del Val knew this well, as his appointments placed him at the centre of world attention. And yet, in the depths of his prayer, he asked to be freed from acclaim. He knew that the only true triumph is to be able to say every day: “Lord, I am where You want me to be, doing what You entrust to me today”. That silent fidelity, invisible to the eyes of the world, is what remains and bears fruit (cf. Mt 6:4).
“From the desire of being consulted… deliver me, O Jesus!” He was close to Benedict XV and Leo XIII, as well as a direct collaborator of Saint Pius X. He could have believed himself indispensable, but he showed us the place of the diplomat: to seek that God’s will be done through the ministry of Peter, beyond personal interests (cf. Phil 2:4). Those who serve in the Church do not seek to have their own voice prevail, but rather that the truth of Christ may speak. And in that renunciation, he discovered the freedom of the authentic servant (cf. Mt 20:26-27).
“From the fear of being humiliated… deliver me, O Jesus!” After the death of Saint Pius X he received other assignments, but he strove to continue serving with the same fidelity, with the serenity of one who knows that all service in the Church is valuable when lived for Christ. In this way, he showed that his task was not a pedestal, but a path of self-giving. True authority is not based on positions or titles, but on the freedom to serve even away from the spotlight (cf. Mt 23:11). And those who are not afraid of losing visibility gain availability to God.
“From the desire of being approved… deliver me, O Jesus!” He sought to live his mission with fidelity to the Gospel and freedom of spirit, without letting himself be guided by the desire to please, but by the truth always sustained by charity. And he understood that the fruitfulness of Christian life does not depend on human approval, but on the perseverance of those who, united to Christ like the branch to the vine, bear fruit when their season comes (cf. Jn 15:5).
Two phrases suffice to summarize his existence. His episcopal motto, which Scripture ascribes to Abraham (cf. Gen 14:21), was “Da mihi animas, cetera tolle” or “Give me souls, take away the rest”. He asked in his will that this be the only inscription on his tomb, which is now in the crypt of Saint Peter’s. Under the dome that preserves the memory of the apostle, he wanted to reduce his name to that unadorned plea. No honours, no titles, no biography; only the cry of a shepherd's heart.
The second phrase is the concluding plea in the Litany: “That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it”. Here we see a treasure of Christian life: holiness is not measured by comparison, but by communion. The Cardinal understood that we must work for our own holiness while encouraging that of others, walking together towards Christ (cf. 1 Thess 3:12-13). This is the logic of the Gospel and must be that of papal diplomacy: unity and communion, knowing that each one is called to be as holy as possible.
Dear children of the Merry del Val Family, may the memory of this member of your family, a true diplomat of encounter, be a source of deep gratitude and an inspiration to all of us, especially those who collaborate with the Successor of Peter in diplomacy. May the Virgin Mary, whom Rafael Merry del Val loved with filial tenderness, teach our families, the diplomats of the Holy See, and all those who serve in the Church, to unite truth and charity, prudence and boldness, service and humility, so that in everything only Christ may shine forth. Thank you very much.
Let us pray together as the Lord has taught us:
Our Father...
[Blessing]
Congratulations, and thank you again!
The Cardinal's Litany
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being honored,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being praised,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being approved,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being despised,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected,
Deliver me, O Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I go unnoticed,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
Charity
Charity is patient, is kind; charity does not envy, is not pretentious, is not puffed up, is not ambitious, is not self-seeking, is not provoked; thinks no evil, does not rejoice over wickedness, but rejoices with the truth, bears with all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Cor. 13:4-7).
To have Charity is to love God above all things for Himself and be ready to renounce all created things rather than offend Him by serious sin. ( Matt. 22:36-40)
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