“It is my desire to live this appointment with an ecclesial spirit and humility,” he says in an interview with Alfa y Omega, the latest Spaniard appointed Chaplain of His Holiness.
Newsroom (26/12/2025 12:52 EDT Gaudium Press) We reproduce an interview with the Spanish agency Alfa y Omega, where the Msgr. Salvador Aguilera, newly appointed Chaplain of His Holiness, narrates his impressions on the event.
Since 2013, Fr. Salvador Aguilera has exercised his ministry in the Vatican as an official of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. In January of last year, he was appointed by Pope Francis as a consultant to the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. In the Archdiocese of Toledo, he serves as deputy delegate for the Hispanic-Mozarabic Rite.
—How did you experience the news of your appointment as Chaplain of His Holiness?
—Gratitude and fraternal affection are the words that summarize these days since I was informed of the news that the Holy Father was adding me among his chaplains. Gratitude to the Lord, because His grace precedes and accompanies us at every moment of our life; gratitude to the Roman Pontiff for this gesture that shows great fatherhood and closeness; gratitude to so many people who sustain me with their prayer in my pastoral mission at the Holy See since 2013. On the other hand, fraternal affection received from so many family members, friends, and acquaintances who rejoice with me; special mention must be made of the brotherhoods and confraternities which, through their networks, have wished to show their affection by publishing even a photo of some of my visits or liturgical celebrations with them.
“It is my desire to live this appointment with an ecclesial spirit and humility.”
—What does the appointment imply? Is it only an honorary title?
—Since the reform carried out by Pope Francis, this concession had been limited to diocesan presbyters over 65 years of age. But in the case of the Roman Curia and of presbyters serving in apostolic nunciatures, it remained in force, as can be seen in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis. What is beautiful about this appointment is belonging to the pontifical family, which, among other things, allows you to live more closely the liturgical celebrations presided over by the Holy Father. Nevertheless, it is my desire to live this appointment with an ecclesial spirit and humility. We priests, at our ordination, are invited to live the priesthood as ministry, a word whose root is minus (less). That is to say, we are imperfect servants through whom God makes His mercy reach others.
—I understand that your bond with Pope Leo XIV is close. How have you seen him during these months of pontificate?
—In these twelve years of service at the Holy See, I have had the grace of dealing with three Pontiffs and three prefects of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, each of them with a profound spiritual depth and great pastoral experience that have enriched me enormously. For me it has been an immense gift from God to be able to deal with these giants of the faith, coming from different latitudes. I arrived in Rome to study at the Pontifical Oriental Institute during the pontificate of Benedict XVI. I lived through his resignation and, during his period as Pope Emeritus, I was able to visit him on several occasions. I witnessed, deeply moved, the election of Pope Francis. I remember how, on the occasion of my birthday and the defense of my doctoral thesis, he received my family at Santa Marta. I lived with joy the election of Pope Leo XIV, whom I had known during these years of his stay in Rome through proximity and through coincidences in certain places as singular as the Pontifical Parish of Saint Anne, run by the Augustinians.
—I don’t know if you have been able to speak with him recently. What message has he conveyed to you? Any reference to Spain?
—Since his election as Supreme Pontiff, I have been able to greet him on several occasions. For example, on September 17 I was able to congratulate him personally on his name day. In November, I participated in the Mass he presided over at the Church of Saint Anselm on the Aventine. That same month, together with the faithful of the Stella Maris parish in Ostia, where I collaborate every Sunday celebrating the 12:00 Mass, I was able to greet the Holy Father together with the parish priest. Once I received the communication of the appointment as Chaplain of His Holiness, I had the opportunity to greet him on Saturday, December 20, after the last jubilee audience. The meeting took place in the inner courtyard of the building of the Holy Office, the Pope’s temporary residence. After a cordial and affectionate greeting, I thanked him for such a concession. We were able to take some commemorative photos, and I asked for his blessing. He gave me a rosary and asked me to pray for him.
Compiled by Gustavo Kralj with Alfa y Omega Files
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