The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Merry del Val, Rafael
(räfäl´ m´r dl väl) (KEY) , 1865–1930, Spanish prelate, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, b. London. He was educated for the priesthood and ordained at Rome (1888). He was secretary of the pontifical commission that studied the validity of Anglican orders (1897). He went as apostolic delegate to Canada (1897) on the occasion of the closing of Catholic and private schools in Manitoba. In 1903, Pius X created him cardinal and made him papal secretary of state; in that office he was said to have increased the bitterness between France and the Holy See. Benedict XV made him archpriest of St. Peter’s and secretary of the Congregation of the Holy Office. He was a coworker with Cardinal Gasparri in the negotiations leading to the Lateran Treaty.
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