Jan. 5 (UPI) — Cardinal Francisco Alvarez Martinez, Archbishop Emeritus of Toledo, died Wednesday at age 96.
He died in a hospital in Madrid after battling a long illness, the Vatican announced.
The College of Cardinals now consists of 214 cardinals with 120 electors and 94 non-electors.
Martinez was born on July 14, 1925, in Santa Eulalia de Ferrones Llanera in Spain. He was ordained in 1950 and worked as a personal secretary to Archbishop Lauzurica y Torralba.
In 1973, he was appointed Bishop of Tarazona, then later named Bishop of Calahorra and la Calzada-Logrono in 1976.
Martinez was promoted to Archbishop of Toledo in 1995 and became a member of the Standing Commission and Executive Committee of the Spanish Episcopal Conference.
He retired in 2002, then participated in the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.
