Who’s leading the transformation of the Spanish episcopacy?

Who are these men, and what explains their abrupt rise in the Spanish Church?

Historically, the Spanish episcopate has been among the most conservative in Europe. Spain has also been a vocational powerhouse, being the country with the most missionaries in the world.

But with increasing secularization, the reality of the Church in Spain has changed. And Pope Francis appears to believe these changes call for a new direction in Church leadership. 

(From L) Cardinal José Cobo; Bishop José Antonio Satué . Credit: Spanish Bishops’ Conference.

In the last few years, Pope Francis seems to have taken the task of transforming the Spanish episcopate to heart.

The pope created a commission of Spanish bishops to advise the nuncio on episcopal appointments.

He has also made two major appointments, which observers believe to be significant for the future of the Church in Spain: José Cobo as Archbishop of Madrid (who was shortly thereafter made a cardinal), and José Antonio Satué as Bishop of Teruel y Albarracín.

In addition to their episcopal appointments, both men have also been appointed to the Dicastery for Bishops. 

Who are these men, and what explains their abrupt rise in the Spanish Church? And how might they influence the Church in the country in years to come?

From wearing jeans to the red hat

José Cobo went from being a relatively unknown parish priest to cardinal in just six years.

His meteoric rise began with Cardinal Carlos Osoro. 

Throughout his years as bishop of Ourense, Oviedo, and Valencia, Osoro was known as a doctrinally orthodox, pastorally-oriented archbishop. Thus, he was seen as a compromise pick when Francis made him Archbishop of Madrid in August 2014, succeeding Cardinal Antonio Rouco, who was considered John Paul II’s and Benedict XVI’s man in Madrid.

But while Osoro himself was not progressive, observers say he made a number of appointments to ingratiate himself with Pope Francis.

One of these was Fr. Elías Royón, SJ, a friend of the pope’s since their time in formation with the Society of Jesus together back in the early ‘70s.

Osoro made Royón vicar of consecrated life in the Archdiocese of Madrid.

Royón has also served as Spanish provincial of the Society of Jesus and president of the Spanish Confederation of Religious Brothers and Sisters.

“Royón is now the man the pope calls on the phone and asks about these appointments in Spain,” a source told The Pillar.

Osoro also saw Fr. José Cobo made an auxiliary bishop. Cobo was and still is close to Royón.

The announcement came as a surprise. Cobo was not especially well-known. He had not served in any diocesan posts, was not a scholar, and did not have a big social or public profile. He was one of the 476 parish priests in the archdiocese, and then he was auxiliary.

“Madrid is an apostolic hotspot, there are many parishes that are very active, for better or worse, both parishes that are orthodox and parishes who are more lax, but have a lot of social and apostolic initiatives. So, you had [many] to pick from. But Cobo never headed one of these parishes, he was never known for attracting a lot of people or having a lot of initiatives in his parish,” one local source said.

“I never saw him with a clerical collar until he became a bishop,” a Madrid priest told The Pillar. “He never received any positions of significance in the archdiocese. Madrid is divided between eight territorial vicars, and he only became one of them when Cardinal Osoro decided to divide the second zone, but he wasn’t even elected for that originally,” the priest said.

“Don Carlos [Osoro] wanted a progressive auxiliary and tried to appoint [Fr.] José Luis Segovia, but Rome didn’t want him. Cobo had no support, the nunciature did not want him, and there were many reports against him, but it was a personal goal of Osoro, and he got it,” he added.

During his time as a parish priest, Cobo was known to develop far-left friendships.

“He had many friends in Podemos, including Manuela Carmena, then mayor of Madrid,” the priest said.

“He’s good friends with José Manuel López, who was Podemos’ spokesman in the Madrid legislature and worked with Caritas.”

Podemos is a far-left party in Spain that has been accused of receiving funding from the Venezuelan regime.

Another source stressed that Cobo is “not a Marxist.”

“It’s not about political affiliation,” the source said. “Cobo has made immigrants his priority for a while, and he developed these friendships due to the common interest.” 

Cobo garnered the attention of Pope Francis when he was put at the helm of the reform of the ecclesiastical foundations of the Archdiocese of Madrid amid a corruption scandal.

Osoro wanted to unify some of the archdiocese’s 74 foundations, in order to simplify the legal structures and their finances.

However, from 2016 to 2019, the archdiocesan delegate of foundations tried to sell over 100 million euros worth of properties belonging to foundations of the archdiocese. In some cases, the attempted sales involved unusual circumstances and below-market prices.

The archdiocese was able to eventually reverse the transactions, and Osoro was cleared of any wrongdoing after a five-year process, while the delegate of foundations was accused of aggravated fraud, disloyal administration, and corruption.

However, Osoro’s name was still tainted. He was seen as poor administrator within the Spanish Church. Although his behavior was not criminal, many blamed him for walking into a trap.

Osoro appointed Cobo to fix the mess that was left behind. Cobo blamed Osoro for being careless, and told Pope Francis about it, said a local priest close to the foundations' situation.

Osoro felt that Cobo had betrayed him, according to numerous sources. But Cobo’s name stood out to the pope when it was time to appoint a new archbishop for Madrid. Francis ended up rejecting both conservative and moderate suggestions from the nuncio, in order to select Cobo, a source close to the Spanish bishops’ conference told The Pillar.

On June 12, 2023, Cobo was announced as Archbishop of Madrid. On September 9, he was appointed to the Dicastery of Bishops, and on September 30 he was created a cardinal by Pope Francis.

“In six years he went from wearing jeans to the red hat,” a source close to the bishops’ conference told The Pillar.

A cautious start

Despite his progressive background, Cobo has started cautiously in the archdiocese.

Cardinal Antonio Rouco led the diocese from 1994 to 2014, when he was succeeded by Osoro. Rouco was John Paul II’s and Benedict XVI’s trusted man in Spain, and expectedly infused their vision for the Church in the Madrid clergy.

“Almost all priests ordained during Rouco’s rule are very conservative, they were their cassocks or at least the clerical collar, many are very active evangelizers, with many active parishes; there are not many unorthodox young priests in Madrid,” a source close to the Archdiocese of Madrid told The Pillar.

“Cobo comes from Madrid, so he knows the archdiocesan clergy and knows he cannot make changes too abruptly. So, he’s been cautious at the beginning…I wouldn’t expect him to do anything too radical,” he added.

Most of Cobo’s initial appointments and policies seem to prove that will be the case.

He appointed Fr. Nicolás Álvarez de las Asturias as the rector of the archdiocesan university. Álvarez de las Asturias was the vice-rector of the university and the preferred candidate of the conservative clergy in Madrid. 

He also appointed Fr. Antonio Secilla as the new rector of the local seminary. Secilla is not known to have progressive tendencies. 

“He’s made some appointments of progressive priests in some parishes; he also made [Fr.] José Luis Segovia, a very progressive priest, an [apostolic] vicar, and he named the equally progressive Fr. Aurelio Cayón the successor of Elías Royón as vicar for consecrated life,” the source close to the Archdiocese of Madrid told The Pillar.

Overall, the sources say that Cobo’s initial appointments are similar to those of Osoro’s - a combination of different theological and pastoral sensibilities.

But while he may have taken a cautious approach thus far, Cobo’s personal views may soon come to the forefront: Pope Francis has tasked Cobo with leading a study group launched after the first session of the synod to revise seminary formation throughout the world to have a “synodal and missionary perspective.”

Some say that Cobo’s perspective on the issue are controversial — and that he might push for ideas that have not proven successful in Spain.

“Cobo put in the conclusions of the diocesan synod of Madrid proposals such as sending seminarians in Madrid to apartments in neighborhoods, which is something that was done in the past and was a total failure,” one of the sources close to the Archdiocese of Madrid told The Pillar.

“No one asked for that. I’m telling you: No one. But he allows the proposal in the report so he doesn’t have to admit it is his proposal,” another priest told The Pillar.

In the ‘70s and ‘80s, some dioceses in Spain, including Madrid, experimented with the idea - they had small groups of seminarians and a formator live together in apartments throughout the city for a few years. The idea was that the men could be in greater contact with the lives of normal people. 

While a model close to that has been praised in some cities, including in Paris, the experiment in Spain, according to many who lived during that time, was far from a success.

“The ‘human tone’ of the apartments really depended on the quality of the formator and the seminarians, but in many cases it led to scandals and a very bad environment. In some instances it worked out well and was well implemented, but I’d say that was the exception to the rule,” a source close to the archdiocese told The Pillar.

‘The pope’s man in Spain’

The other bishop that has quickly risen in Spain has a less public profile. But his rise has been just as meteoric as Cobo’s, and many see him as more influential in Rome than the cardinal.

Bishop José Antonio Satué has been the Bishop of Teruel y Albarracín, one of the smallest dioceses in Spain, since 2021. Before that, Satué was a priest in the Diocese of Huesca, where he served as vicar general between 2004 and 2009 and judicial vicar between 2004 and 2015.

Observers suggest that Satué’s rise has largely been due to the fact that he has been championed by Cardinal Juan José Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona.

“Satué is one of the protegées of Cardinal Omella,” a source close to the bishops’ conference told The Pillar.

Omella supported Satué even after he was embroiled in controversy in his own diocese. 

Satué was appointed vicar general under Bishop Jesús Sanz Montes, now Archbishop of Oviedo, and perhaps one of the most conservative bishops in Spain.

“Satué didn’t like Sanz a single bit. He wrote an ‘anonymous’ letter that he sent out to the diocesan clergy criticizing Sanz’s tenure. Sanz found out and kicked him out as vicar general,” a source close to the Diocese of Huesca told The Pillar.

Satué would then serve as a parish priest in rural parishes in the diocese, and, according to various sources, took Sanz to a canonical trial, although the details of the process are not public. The canonical process eventually came to nothing, and Satué left Huesca for good in 2014 to become an official in the then-Congregation for the Clergy.

“Omella wanted to make him a bishop, so he thought the post in Rome would do him good,” a Huesca source told The Pillar.

Although Satué keeps a low profile, those in Huesca believe he has a progressive sensibility.

“He will never take public positions against the magisterium, never, but he’s the kind of priest and bishop who never takes an unorthodox position, but allows and encourages others to take them,” one Huesca priest told The Pillar. 

Others believe there are some positives to Satué’s pastoral approach.

“He was good with young people in Huesca. He worked in many capacities in Catholic Action and had a lot of young people with him, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he starts having vocations, as he’s a priest who knows how to attract young people,” a local source told The Pillar.

Although he currently leads one of the smallest dioceses in Spain, Satué’s influence in the Spanish episcopate continues to grow. Last September — despite his small diocese — he was appointed to the Dicastery of Bishops, on the same day as Cobo.

“Publicly, Cobo seems to be Francis’ man in Spain, but I’d say that Satué is really Francis’ man in Spain. Cobo doesn’t even speak Italian, while Satué knows Rome quite well,” the source close to the bishops’ conference told The Pillar.

In fact, a Huesca priest told The Pillar that Satué travels monthly, or even biweekly, to Rome to meet with Pope Francis.

Many believe that Satué is bound for a promotion sooner rather than later – and that he should probably start taking Catalan lessons.

“Omella wants Satué to be his successor in Barcelona and be made a cardinal. The problem is that Satué is not Catalonian, which is a complicated thing in Barcelona. Omella is also not Catalonian, but he comes from a region in Aragón that borders with Catalonia and learned Catalan,” a Madrid source told The Pillar.

The facts that Satué is not a Catalonian and has never served as a priest in Catalonia might mean he would not be well-received by the local clergy in Barcelona, who have widely supported independence from Spain.

Some observers are concerned that the local clergy are deeply politicized and have a left-wing bent, something that has reportedly increased during Omella’s tenure.

“The bishops that did the visitation to the Spanish seminaries [last year] were very concerned with the politicization in Catalonian seminaries,” a senior priest with knowledge of the situation told The Pillar.

Others, though, believe that Satué might spend a longer time in Teruel y Albarracín. 

There are not many major sees in Spain that are vacant or led by bishops past retirement age. The only archdioceses in the country with bishops over 70 are Valladolid, whose current archbishop is the president of the bishops’ conference, and Mérida-Badajoz, a not-so-flashy appointment.

One other complication for Satué is that he may be facing a lengthy legal battle over a case involving allegations of sexual abuse against a counselor at a Catholic school run by Opus Dei.

An initial canonical trial was closed in 2015 due to lack of evidence. The counselor was later found guilty in a criminal case. He was initially sentenced to 11 years in prison, but the sentence was reduced on appeal and he did not end up serving any jail time. 

The case gained prominence when an alleged victim drew attention to it in the Disney+ documentary ‘Amén: Francisco Responde.’

In 2022, Pope Francis reopened the canonical procedure against the counselor, appointing Satué as judge.

The counselor has accused Satué of running a process marred with irregularities and of failing to be impartial. Among other irregularities, local outlet Religión Confidencial reported that, during the trial, the defense was not allowed to introduce the testimony of Silverio Nieto, the priest who conducted the initial CDF investigation in 2015.

In May 2024, the counselor decided to sue Satué for an “attack against honor.” That lawsuit is currently pending.

Both Satué and Cobo are young and likely to outlive Francis’ papacy by many years. 

It is possible that they will spend the next two decades reshaping the Spanish Church.

However, their ultimate influence will largely be determined by Francis’ longevity and the theological orientation of his successor. 

While the duo of bishops has the potential to leave a lasting mark on the Church of Spain, it is also possible that the pair could be replaced, and could become just another page in the annals of the Spanish episcopacy. Only time will tell.