Lessons on humility from 20th-century Vatican secretary of state who slept on a straw mattress
Father Álvaro Serrano Bayán’s book, “Growing in Humility: 7 Steps with Cardinal Merry del Val,” draws on the cardinal’s writings to offer 380 spiritual counsels. Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val, appointed Vatican secretary of state at age 38 by St. Pius X, was known for his diplomatic skill, discreet loyalty, and interior life. Merry del Val encouraged St. Pius X to accept the papacy during a difficult period for the Church, showing his ability to support the pope at a pivotal moment. Serrano spent seven years researching Merry del Val’s letters, homilies, and spiritual direction; the cardinal’s canonization cause is ongoing. Pope Leo XIV received members of the Merry del Val study group at the Vatican last October, during events marking the 160th anniversary of the cardinal’s birth.
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Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val’s life and spiritual writings are the focus of a new book that presents humility as a virtue grounded in knowing one’s dignity before God—not in diminishing oneself or seeking others’ approval. Its author, Father Álvaro Serrano Bayán, draws on seven years of research to shape Merry del Val’s teachings into a practical guide for prayer and spiritual growth.
Born into an aristocratic family, Merry del Val was an accomplished diplomat who spoke several languages and served in the Curia during the pontificate of Leo XIII. At 38, he became secretary of state under St. Pius X, after helping serve as secretary of the 1903 conclave.
After St. Pius X’s election, Merry del Val encouraged him to accept the papacy at a moment when the new pope was unsure he could meet the challenges facing the Church. Serrano says the gesture helped establish the trust between the two men.
Serrano’s Growing in Humility: 7 Steps with Cardinal Merry del Val gathers 380 spiritual counsels from letters, homilies, spiritual direction, and other writings. Serrano said his interest began as a seminarian, after encountering the Litany of Humility associated with Merry del Val.
The book uses the Latin word humus, meaning fertile soil, to frame a seven-stage journey of spiritual cultivation. It can be read as a book or used for personal prayer and adoration; the journey culminates in Mary, whom Serrano presents as the Lord’s fruit par excellence. Cardinal Pietro Parolin wrote the prologue.
Serrano describes humility as seeing oneself truthfully, rather than claiming either greater or lesser worth than one has. He argues that humility does not mean declaring oneself worthless: a person’s dignity comes from being created and loved by God, not from continual recognition by others.
Merry del Val’s example, Serrano says, shows how to remain humble while holding a powerful position. The cardinal did not seek the secretary of state role or make it his identity; Serrano contrasts positions that end with the enduring nature of a person’s vocation.
The article connects this message to what Serrano calls a culture of self-focus and constant approval-seeking. It highlights Merry del Val’s prayer, “Deliver me, O Lord, from the desire to be loved, esteemed, or preferred,” and Serrano’s view that actions should be done for love of God and their inherent goodness, rather than for social reward.
The article reports that Pope Leo XIV received members of the Merry del Val study group at the Vatican the previous October, in connection with the 160th anniversary of the cardinal’s birth in London in 1865. Merry del Val’s cause for canonization continues, and the article marks 96 years since his death.
Humility and service in Catholic ecclesial leadership
Catholic teaching holds together two truths: the Church has real authority and ordered ministries, but authority is given for service, not self-advancement or control. Humility does not mean denying responsibility or refusing to lead. It means exercising leadership in the pattern of Christ, who serves, accompanies, and gives himself for others.
Jesus directly challenges the idea that greatness means having others serve you. He tells his disciples that their leadership must be different from domination, and points to his own mission: he came “not to be served but to serve.” Pope Benedict XVI applies this teaching to ecclesial ministry: leadership in the Church is a response to God’s call, not a personal project or prize, and its pattern is the Cross—the “logic of bending down to wash feet.”
This is more than a general appeal to kindness. It shapes what Christian leadership is for. Pope Francis describes authority as service whose summit is the Cross, where Jesus gives himself completely. He warns that Church leaders do grave harm when they use the Church or the faithful as a route to personal ambition.
“The episcopacy is truly an honour when it is a form of service.”
That principle applies especially to bishops, but the same evangelical standard reaches leaders in religious communities and other Church settings. The honor of a role is not a license to seek prestige; it is an added responsibility to serve.
Service is not the same as having no authority, avoiding difficult decisions, or treating every leadership role as interchangeable. Pastores gregis says that bishops govern through counsel, exhortation, and example, but also through authority and sacred power. The point is that these forms of governance should be exercised by a humble servant and caring shepherd, for God’s glory and the salvation of souls.
Humility changes the manner and purpose of authority. A leader does not act as though the community exists for the leader’s success. Instead, leadership is directed toward the good of the people entrusted to the leader’s care. Pope Paul VI describes service as a duty inherent in authority—and one that grows with the level of authority. He presents this not as a novelty but as a continuing Christian tradition.
So humility is not passivity. A leader may need to teach, guide, correct, or make a decision. The Catholic sources emphasize that such authority should be exercised for the community’s good, in a spirit shaped by Christ, rather than for personal gain or domination.
Humble ecclesial leadership is visible in concrete habits. Pope Francis urges leaders to accompany, understand, help, and love, with particular attention to those who feel alone or excluded. In consecrated communities, the Church’s instruction on authority likewise presents leaders as personally present to their members’ difficulties, attentive to their wounds, and able to acknowledge their own limits and need for help.
This kind of service is not merely a leader doing everything for everyone. It should also help others grow and participate. A Vatican text says authority becomes service when it shares, involves others, and helps them mature; it connects this with communion, prayer, cooperation, and respect for the diverse gifts within the Church. A scholarly treatment of ecclesial leadership similarly describes collaboration among ordained and lay people as a way of serving the Church’s mission together rather than competing for power.
The practical implication is that a leader should not confuse being needed with serving well. Service may involve making space for others to contribute, receiving counsel, and cooperating with people whose perspectives differ—while remaining responsible for the duties proper to the leader’s office.
A call to humility must not be used to silence concerns or shield leaders from scrutiny. Pope Francis names abuses of power and conscience, sexual abuse, and failures in responding to abuse as sources of serious suffering for the faithful. He insists that the Church’s witness must take concrete shape in service, and that credibility grows through sincere, daily, generous service—not through image management or attempts to regain prestige.
That makes accountability part of the moral meaning of leadership. A leader who serves cannot treat the people entrusted to them as instruments, nor dismiss their suffering as an inconvenience to the leader’s plans. The sources do not set out here a full procedure for investigating or correcting misconduct; they do establish the principle that abuses and mishandling of them contradict the service required of Church leaders.
The Christian standard is not simply whether a leader appears modest, speaks gently, or avoids public recognition. It is whether authority is actually directed toward the good of others and exercised in the spirit of Christ. Pope John Paul II says that a bishop’s governance is made effective not only through formal authority but through the moral authority associated with holiness of life.
For those entrusted with leadership, this means resisting careerism, remaining attentive to people rather than prestige, and being willing to serve when service is quiet or costly. For the faithful, it offers a sound way to understand the purpose of ecclesial authority: leadership is not meant to imitate worldly domination, but to guide and build up the Church in fidelity to Christ.