Antonio Cañizares Llovera (born 10 October 1945) is a Spanish Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who is the current Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, having previously served as Archbishop of Toledo and Primate of Spain from 2002 to 2008. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 2006.
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Antonio Cañizares was born in Utiel, and studied at the minor and major seminaries in Valencia and at the Pontifical University of Salamanca, from where he obtained his doctorate in theology, specializing in catechesis. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop José García Lahiguera on 21 June 1970, and then served as assistant pastor and delegate for catechesis in the Archdiocese of Valencia.
Following his transfer to the Archdiocese of Madrid, Cañizares taught catechetical theology at the University of Salamanca and fundamental theology at the Conciliar Seminary of Madrid. He later became the director and a professor of the Institute of Religious Science and Catechesis in Madrid, and sat on several commissions and secretariats of the Spanish Episcopal Conference as well. From 1985 to 1992, Cañizares served as director of the Secretariat of the Episcopal Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith. He also founded and was the first president of Asociación Española de Catequistas, and was Director of the review Teología y Catequesis.
| Styles of Antonio Cañizares Llovera |
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|---|---|
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Toledo (emeritus) |
On 6 March 1992, Cañizares was appointed as Bishop of Ávila by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 25 April from Archbishop Mario Tagliaferri, with Cardinals Ángel Suquía Goicoechea and Marcelo González Martín serving as co-consecrators, in the Cathedral of Ávila. Cañizares Llovera later became a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Roman Curia on 10 November 1996, and was named Archbishop of Granada on 10 December of that same year. In addition to his duties in Granada, he was Apostolic Administrator of Cartagena from January to October 1998, and was elected President of the Episcopal Commission of Education and Catechesis in 1999.
Cañizares Llovera was promoted to Archbishop of Toledo, and thus Primate of Spain, on 24 October 2002. He was elected Vice-President of the Spanish Episcopal Conference as well. Pope Benedict XVI created him Cardinal-Priest of San Pancrazio in the consistory of 24 March 2006. The Spanish primate was awarded a doctorate honoris causa from the Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera on that same date. He will be eligible to participate in any future papal conclaves until he reaches the age of eighty on 10 October 2025.
On 9 December 2008, Pope Benedict appointed him Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
On 4 March 2010, he was appointed a member of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses.[1] He is also a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Congregation for Bishops as well as the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei. He will hold these memberships until his 80th birthday.
He has been a member of Real Academia de la Historia de España since November 2007. Cañizares is sometimes known by his nickname of "Little Ratzinger,"[2] referring to the similar beliefs and opinions between him and Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger, who himself is aware of and "very amused by this expression."[3]
In response to an interview in December 2008 Cardinal Cañizares Llovera stated regarding the best way to receive the Eucharist: "What does it mean to receive communion in the mouth? What does it mean to kneel before the Most Holy Sacrament? What does it mean to kneel during the consecration at Mass? It means adoration, it means recognizing the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist; it means respect and an attitude of faith of a man who prostrates before God because he knows that everything comes from Him, and we feel speechless, dumbfounded, before the wondrousness, his goodness, and his mercy. That is why it is not the same to place the hand, and to receive communion in any fashion, than doing it in a respectful way; it is not the same to receive communion kneeling or standing up, because all these signs indicate a profound meaning."
In August 2010, the Cardinal stated that, due to the impact of earlier cultural impact and formation in children who learn at an earlier age, who are faced with mature issues earlier, and who are enormously influenced by modern morality, ethical systems, and the mass communications media, it might be preferable to start preparations for receiving the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist at an earlier age, which could also lead to lowering the age of reception for those sacraments (which is now about 7 or 8, the age of reason, where young children begin to be held responsible for their actions and belief systems).
In regard to the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, Cañizares Llovera has stated, "[The] intention of the Pope has not only been to satisfy the followers of Monsignor Lefevbre, nor to confine himself to respond to the just wishes of the faithful who feel attached...to the liturgical heritage represented by the Roman Rite, but also, and in a special way, to open the liturgical richness of the Church to all the faithful, thus making possible the discovery of the treasures of the liturgical patrimony of the Church to those who still do not know it...even if there were not a single 'traditionalist' whom to satisfy, this 'discovery' would have been enough to justify the provisions of the Pope."
Speaking in the context of an abortion debate prompted by a Spanish government proposal, the Cardinal said: “What happened in some schools cannot be compared with the millions of lives that have been destroyed by abortion. It has legally destroyed 40 million human lives.” [4]
As Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, Cañizares Llovera has established a "Liturgical art and sacred music commission" whose task will be to collaborate with the commissions in charge of evaluating new construction and renovation projects for churches of the various dioceses. The team will also be responsible for the further study of music and singing that accompany the celebration of mass. Cañizares Llovera and Pope Benedict XVI consider this work as “very urgent” due to the fact that in recent decades, many churches have been replaced by buildings that resemble multi purpose halls with architects, even the more famous ones, not using the Catholic liturgy as a starting point and thus end up producing avant-garde constructions that look like anything but a church. The new commission’s regulations will give precise instructions to dioceses. The judicial powers of the Congregation for Divine Worship will have the power to act.[5]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Felipe Fernández García |
Bishop of Ávila 1992–1996 |
Succeeded by Adolfo González Montes |
| Preceded by José Méndez Asensio |
Archbishop of Granada 1996–2002 |
Succeeded by Francisco Martínez Fernández |
| Preceded by Francisco Álvarez Martínez |
Archbishop of Toledo 2002–2008 |
Succeeded by Braulio Rodríguez Plaza |
| Preceded by Francis Arinze |
Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments 2008– present |
Incumbent |