The new canons swore to defend the doctrine of the Mediation of Our Lady and fulfil the duties attached to their positions. Their oath marked their formal entry into the Cathedral Chapter of Seville, or Cabildo Catedral Metropolitano. Its members oversee worship and help care for the cathedral’s heritage. The chapter’s Marian commitment is part of a longstanding local tradition: representatives renew it publicly each 15 August during the solemn Mass of the Assumption, 100 years after the Mediationsist Vow.
Francisco de los Reyes Rodríguez López, Miguel Ángel Núñez Aguilera and Antonio Jesús Rodríguez Báez joined the chapter, along with Andrés Ybarra Satrústegui, Enrique Barrera Delgado and Gumersindo Melo González. Archbishop José Ángel Saiz Meneses presided over the ceremony on Saturday, 7 November 2026. It began at 9:30 a.m. in the cathedral choir, temporarily set up as a chapter room. The Seville Cathedral Chapter said the act formalised the six men’s membership and responsibilities.
Three existing chapter members also took up dignities, bringing the session’s formal appointments and status changes to nine. Isacio Siguero Muñoz became archpriest, having previously served as royal chaplain. José Luis García de la Mata Calvo became scholastic after serving as archivist and librarian. Luis Rueda Gómez became treasurer, having been prefect of liturgy. The titles establish precedence and particular places for their holders in the choir. They are now honorary and do not necessarily entail the historic duties associated with each office.
The ceremony followed a formal sequence. The chapter received the archbishop at the Puerta de los Palos before proceeding to the choir. Meanwhile, the incoming canons waited in the Sacristy of the Cálices. After the chapter secretary read the names of those taking office, the new members were brought to the choir. The antiphon Ecce quam bonum et quam iucundum, based on Psalm 132, was sung before the secretary’s reading, and Saiz Meneses authorised the proceedings. The service also featured organ music and Gregorian chant, as Diario de Sevilla reported.
After taking their oaths, the new members sat in their assigned choir stalls and received written confirmation of their appointments. The rite ended with the archbishop’s blessing, followed by a Marian hymn and greetings between the new canons and the chapter. A ceremonial tradition also saw the new canons toss coins among those present.
In a recorded message for the occasion, Saiz Meneses said the chapter is responsible for worship and care of the cathedral’s heritage. He described the new members’ actions as a public commitment to serve the Church and people who visit the temple. He also hoped the cathedral would remain a place of prayer open to all. Enrique Barrera, one of the six new canons, is also director of the Casa Sacerdotal Santa Clara.
The chapter’s duties include the cathedral’s daily liturgy, celebrated with particular solemnity, along with pastoral and administrative work. Its history in Seville dates to the restoration of Christian worship after Ferdinand III conquered the city in 1248. A separate report on Madrid’s beatification preparations covered another church ceremony. The Seville appointments concern membership and offices in the cathedral chapter.
The ceremony also featured a new red hanging for the archbishop’s historic chair in the choir. The chapter commissioned it from Bordados Santa Bárbara, along with a white counterpart, using a design by Javier Sánchez de los Reyes. The pieces carry Saiz Meneses’s episcopal coat of arms and the motto Duc in altum, a Gospel expression meaning “put out into deep water”. The chair symbolises the bishop’s teaching role and the unity of the diocesan Church around its pastor.
