Ángel Suquía Goicoechea

Ángel Suquía Goicoechea (2 October 1916 – 13 July 2006) was a Spanish Catholic cardinal who served as archbishop of Madrid from 1983 until 1994.

Education

He was one of sixteen children and was educated at the La Salle Christian Brothers at Beasain from 1925 until 1927; he then entered the Minor Seminary of Saturrarán, Motrico, Guipúzcoa, where he studied Humanities, Philosophy and Theology. He remained there until 1931, whereupon he entered the Major Seminary of Vitoria, until 1936. When the Spanish Civil War started in 1936, he was destined to the fort of Guadalupe as a soldiers' instructor. In 1939, he travelled to the Benedictine monastery of Maria Laach in Germany, to study liturgy but when the Second World War started in that same year, he quickly returned to Spain. He was ordained to the priesthood on 7 July 1940. He became Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela on 13 April 1973. On 12 April 1983 he was chosen to succeed Cardinal Vicente Enrique y Tarancón as Archbishop of Madrid by Pope John Paul II.

On 25 May 1985 he was created Cardinal-Priest of Gran Madre di Dio. His writings were published in five volumes in 1994.

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