Monsignor Teodoro León Muñoz

Appointed Titular Bishop of Mentesa and Auxiliary Bishop of Sevilla on April 1, 2023, he was ordained bishop on May 27, 2023, in the Cathedral of Sevilla.

Teodoro León Muñoz was born in Puertollano (Ciudad Real) on November 27, 1964. He was ordained a priest on December 22, 1991, by Archbishop Carlos Amigo Vallejo, Archbishop of Sevilla, in the Cathedral of Sevilla. Subsequently, he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Theology from the Universidad de Navarra (1993). He earned his Licentiate and Doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontificia Universidad Gregoriana in Rome (1995–2000), and was awarded the St. Robert Bellarmine Medal. During his time in Rome, he also completed a specialization course in jurisprudence at the Pontificia Universidad Gregoriana (1998), and a course on offences and penalties in Church legislation at the Penitenciaría Apostólica (1999). He studied civil law at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Spain (2008–2010). He has participated in various courses and conferences on Canon Law and forensic practice organized by the Pontificia Universidad de la Santa Cruz (Rome), and many universidades such as Navarra, Salamanca, Comillas (Madrid), and the Tribunal of the Roman Rota.

Priestly Ministry

His priestly ministry has taken place in the Archdiocese of Sevilla, where he has carried out the following pastoral duties: parish priest in Guadalema de los Quintero, El Torbiscal, and El Palmar de Troya (1991–1995); parish priest of Trajano, Trobal, and Pinzó (1991–1992); catechesis coordinator for the Eastern Zone of Sevilla (1994–1995); parochial vicar at San Isidoro Parish, Sevilla (2000–2004); canon chaplain of the cathedral chapter of Sevilla (2002–2013); rector of the Iglesia Colegial del Divino Salvador (2013–2014); spiritual director of the Asociación de Fieles de la Virgen de los Reyes y San Fernando (2004–2013); spiritual director of the Men’s and Women’s Spanish Nocturnal Adoration of Sevilla (2015–2018).

Diocesan Curia

Within the diocesan curia, he has held the following positions: promoter of justice and defender of the bond (2000–2008); vice president (2009) and president (from 2010) of the Interdiocesan Court of Second Instance of Sevilla; vice secretary general and vice chancellor of the Archdiocese of Sevilla (2002–2005); episcopal delegate for legal affairs of the Brotherhoods and Confraternities (2005–2009); director of the Secretariat for Legal Affairs (2010–2012).

Until his appointment as auxiliary bishop, he had been vicar general of the Archdiocese of Sevilla and moderator of the curia (from 2010); dean president of the cathedral chapter of Sevilla (2013); episcopal delegate for the Causes of Saints (from 2005); judge of the Metropolitan Tribunal of Sevilla (from 2011); secretary general of the Asamblea de Obispos del Sur de España (from 2017); secretary of the Provincia Eclesiástica de Sevilla (from 2017); coordinator of the Oficina para la Protección de Menores y Personas Vulnerables (from 2020). He is also vice president of several foundations whose president is the Archbishop of Sevilla, and a member of the presbyteral council, the Council of Consultors, the diocesan pastoral council, the commission for legal affairs, the budget and finance commission, and the diocesan patrimony and resources commission.

Teaching

In the field of education, he has served as a religion teacher in primary schools (1992–1994); professor in the basic and intermediate courses of religious pedagogy for the formation of catechists in the Eastern Zone of Sevilla (1994–1995); professor of the basic course in liturgy at the Instituto de Liturgia San Isidoro de Sevilla (1994–1995); professor of Canon Law, Marriage and Family, Fundamental Pastoral Theology, and Fundamental Morals at the Centro de Estudios Teológicos de Sevilla (2000–2016).

Publications

His publications include the following works: El celibato eclesiástico. Síntesis histórico-jurídica  (Desde el Concilio de Elvira hasta el Concilio de Trento), Roma 1997; La territorialidad de la Diócesis y la Parroquia. Significado teológico-canónico  (doctoral thesis), Sevilla 2000; Los bautizados en la Iglesia Católica exentos de la forma canónica: problemática canónica y procesal, Sevilla 2004; “El Arcipreste, su identidad y misión, según el Código de Derecho Canónico”, in Isidorianum Núm. 32-33 (2007) 413-432; Madre María de la Purísima. El poder heroico del amor Madrid 2010; Perfil espiritual de San Fernando en el contexto histórico de la espiritualidad del siglo XIII, Sevilla 2013; Santa María de la Purísima, Madrid 2015; Semblanza de la Sierva de Dios Cristina de Arteaga y Falguera, Jerónima, Sevilla 2016; El Padre José Torres Padilla, Cofundador de las Hermanas de la Compañía de la Cruz. Perfil biográfico, Madrid 2020; “El Venerable Padre Fernando de Contreras, presbítero diocesano del siglo XVI, amigo del Maestro Ávila,” in Cuadernos Isidorianum 11 (2020) 13–40;  El Padre José Torres Padilla, Apóstol de la Caridad, Madrid 2021.