See Toledo Name Braulio Plaza | Appointed 16 April 2009 | |
 | ||
Predecessor Antonio Canizares Llovera Ordination 3 April 1972
by Vicente Enrique y Tarancon Consecration 20 December 1987
by Mario Tagliaferri Birth name Braulio Rodriguez Plaza | ||
A contraluz | don Braulio Rodríguez Plaza
Braulio Rodriguez Plaza (24 January 1944) is a Spanish Catholic prelate, the current Archbishop of Toledo and therefore Primate of Spain (and thus a candidate for the cardinalate) since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 16 April 2009, which was Pope Benedict's 82nd birthday. [1] He previously served as Archbishop of Valladolid from 2002.
Rodriguez Plaza was born in Aldea del Fresno, Community of Madrid, and now in the diocese of Getafe. He studied in the seminary in Madrid, obtaining a licentiate in theology at the Comillas Pontifical University. He was ordained priest on 3 April 1972 and was appointed as pastor of two rural parishes, vice parish priest in San Miguel de Carabanchel and then parish priest in San Fulgencio, a large parish in Madrid, and then became a formator at the major seminary in Madrid.
After spending two years in Jerusalem, he received there a degree in Sacred Scripture at the Biblical School. On 6 November 1987 he was appointed Bishop of Osma-Soria, receiving episcopal consecration on 20 December. He obtained a doctorate in Biblical Theology from the Faculty of Burgos. On 12 May 1995 he was transferred to the diocese of Salamanca. On 28 August 2002 he was promoted to the metropolitan see of Valladolid. He is a member of the Standing Committee of the Spanish Bishops' Conference. He received the pallium from Pope Benedict on 29 June 2009, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul in Rome. [2]
In February 2010, Archbishop Plaza received media attention when he dismissed a priest in the Toledo diocese as a result of accusations of prostitution.