Cardinal Ricardo Blázquez Pérez is a Spanish prelate perhaps best known for his efforts to help resolve the Basque separatist conflict, his progressive theological writings, and for his commitment to addressing social issues.

Born on April 13, 1942, in Villanueva del Campillo, Ávila, Spain, Blázquez Pérez pursued his early education at the seminaries of Ávila and later obtained a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Ordained priest on February 18, 1967, he began his ecclesiastical career as secretary of the Theological Institute of Ávila. He subsequently served as a professor and dean at the Pontifical University of Salamanca, where he became Grand Chancellor between 2000 and 2004.

Blázquez Pérez was appointed auxiliary bishop of Santiago de Compostela in 1988 and received episcopal consecration that same year. He later served as bishop of Palencia (1992–1995) and Bilbao (1995–2010).

His tenure in Bilbao was marked by his outspoken condemnation of ETA terrorism and his efforts to promote reconciliation in Spain’s politically volatile Basque region. He courageously denounced ETA’s terrorist activities, calling their continued existence “unbearable” and stating that they “represent no one.” At the same time, he attempted to mediate peace.

In 2010, he became the Archbishop of Valladolid, a position he held until retiring from episcopal office in June 2022. On arrival in Valladolid, one of his first actions was to set aside part of his salary to help those affected by an economic crisis affecting Spain at that time. He encouraged other priests to do the same.

Cardinal Blázquez Pérez has been deeply involved in the Spanish Episcopal Conference. He served as its president from 2005 to 2008 and again from 2014 to 2017, with a term as vice president in between. He also participated in significant Vatican-led initiatives, including a 2009 investigation into the Legionaries of Christ and their lay movement, Regnum Christi.

Known for his theological scholarship, he has authored numerous books and articles on theology and contributed to key documents for the Spanish Episcopal Conference. Liberal commentators have described him as “a theological moderate and perennial counterweight to Spain’s more doctrinally conservative and socially combative prelates.”

Pope Francis elevated Blázquez Pérez to the College of Cardinals on February 14, 2015, assigning him the titular church of Santa Maria in Vallicella. He was only the third Archbishop of Vallodolid to become a cardinal since the See was established in the 16th century, and the first since 1919.