Spanish priest Francisco Romero named adviser for shrines at Vatican evangelization dicastery

Francisco Julián Romero Galván, a priest of the Archdiocese of Mérida-Badajoz in the Spanish region of Extremadura, was appointed an adviser to the Dicastery for Evangelization on September 16, 2026, with specific responsibility for shrines. Since September 2021 Romero has headed the secretariat of the Episcopal Commission for Evangelization, Catechesis and Catechumenate, a post the Spanish Bishops' Conference renewed in July 2024.

The appointment is in line with Pope Leo XIV's aim of strengthening the pastoral role of shrines, understood as privileged places for encountering Christ and living the faith. Romero also served as director of the Jubilee 2025 secretariat of the Spanish Bishops' Conference (CEE) and was part of the pastoral team that prepared the pope's visit to Spain in June 2026.

What the Dicastery for Evangelization does

The Dicastery for Evangelization is the office of the Roman Curia responsible for spreading the Word of God and the work of Christ in the world, and for building up his mystical Body, the Church. Its responsibilities include the essential questions of global evangelization, support for new particular Churches and the coordination of pastoral care at shrines and on pilgrimages.

Under the apostolic constitution Praedicate evangelium, which governs the Roman Curia, the prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization is the pope himself. The dicastery has two sections, one for fundamental questions of evangelization in the world and one for first evangelization and new particular Churches. Each is led by a pro-prefect who acts in the pope's name.

Romero said he will look to the shrines of the Virgen de la Cabeza in Jaén, the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Valladolid and Estíbaliz in Vitoria, and to the basilica of the Virgen de los Desamparados in Valencia. Each has a different structure and experience to offer. He summed up his proposal as a major effort in three steps: being present, welcoming the people who arrive, and listening and talking with them, given the many people arriving at shrines in search of God. Priests are not the only ones working at those shrines, he said. Lay teams also welcome visitors, accompany them, talk with them, listen and offer guidance, and that is where the Gospel can be proposed.