Carmelo de Diego Lora, priest and distinguished jurist, died in Pamplona at the age of 97, Professor Emeritus of the School of Canon Law of the University of Navarra.

He was born in Sanlúcar de Barrameda and always kept very much alive his Sanlúcar condition, inseparable from his passionate devotion to the Virgen del Rocío. She studied law in Seville at programs of study . He obtained the licentiate degree in 1943 and the following year he won by civil service examination the place of first judge written request. During his early years in La Palma del Condado, in the province of Huelva, he joined Opus Dei, which at that time was beginning its expansion throughout Andalusia. His inclination to study led him to combine his work in the judiciary with the preparation of his doctoral thesis , which he brilliantly defended at the Central University of Madrid in 1949. A few years after the activities of the Estudio General de Navarra, the germ of the University, began in Pamplona, Professor de Diego Lora began to collaborate in the teaching of the Procedural Law at the School of Civil Law.

His life took a turn in 1964, when he received the sacrament of Holy Orders. From then on, he combined ministerial service with academic activity, the object of a certain reconversion towards the field of the canonical Procedural Law . From very early on, he was recognised in canonistic circles in Spain and abroad as an eminent author. His specialised publications and his "Lecciones de Procedural Law canónico", guide of the discipline for the use of students, bear witness to this. He was Dean and Associate Dean of the School of Canon Law of the University of Navarre.

At the beginning of the 1980s he was appointed member of the Advisory Commission of the recently created board Episcopal Commission for Legal Affairs, of the Spanish Episcopal lecture . He served the Church in the exercise of this function with extraordinary expertise, as the jurist he was. Moreover, the humility and simplicity that always characterised him had a profound impact on those who came into contact with him. The imprint of his activity on the Spanish Episcopal lecture is still indelible.

About five years ago his health condition worsened. His physical limitations increased, but his mind remained clear until the end. Just a few weeks ago, he told me: "I can't read, I don't have my hands or my eyes... what I don't lose is my report! (and his sense of humour, as you can see). It was a delight to be with him, to remember details of people, situations, events - almost always amusing - from a more or less distant life.

He had outstanding intellectual and academic qualities, but above all his endearing humanity, his exquisite kindness, his availability to serve with a complete forgetfulness of self stood out. He made those who met him feel special: valued, welcomed, appreciated... This was not only the result of his affable character, but a reflection of his great humility and his enormous capacity to love.

*The priest Carmelo de Diego Lora was born in Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cádiz) on 20 September 1920 and died in Pamplona on 26 July 2018.