Pope Benedict XVI mourns death of Cardinal Suquia of Spain

(15 July 2006) : Profoundly saddened by the death of Cardinal Angel Suquia Goicoechea, Archbishop Emeritus of Madrid, after a long illness lived with great serenity, Pope Benedict XVI sent a telegram Friday to Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, archbishop of Madrid, uniting himself to the grief of the faithful. The 89 year-old Cardinal died on Thursday at his residence in San Sebastian. “Cardinal Suquía's generous and intense ministerial labour, first as bishop of Almeria, then as bishop of Malaga, Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, and later as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Madrid-Alcala, being also for some years president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, attests to his great dedication to the cause of the Gospel, while giving proof of his profound love for the Church," the Pope’s telegram read. "I express my deepest sympathy to you and to the whole of that beloved Archdiocese. I unite myself with all to commend to the mercy of the Heavenly Father this zealous pastor who served his people with so much charity," concluded the Pope’s message.