Emilio Ruiz Muñoz (1874–1936) was a Spanish Roman-Catholic priest and press commentator, known mostly by his pen-name Fabio. Since 1913 he served as a canon by the Málaga cathedral, though from 1920 onwards the role was rather titular, as he resided mostly in Madrid. Between 1906 and 1936 he contributed some 3,000 articles to the Traditionalist daily El Siglo Futuro, and became recognized as a point of reference for intransigent, militant, ultra-right Catholicism. Politically until the early 1930s he supported Integrism; afterwards he retained the Integrist outlook, but operated within the united Carlist structures and emerged as one of key Carlist intellectuals of the mid-1930s.
Family and youth
Distant paternal ancestors of Ruiz Muñoz are unknown. There is little certain about his father, Francisco Ruiz Ramírez (died as “anciano” 1927).El Siglo Futuro 24.04.27, available here In the late 1880s he was noted in relation to Bentarique, a village in the Almería province, and apparently counted among prestigious locals, yet it is not clear what he was doing for a living. He formed part of the local committee, which supported the liberal politician and former president of the First Spanish Republic, Emilio Castelar.Discurso que D. Emilio Castelar dijo en el Congreso de Diputados (7 de febrero de 1888), Madrid 1885, p. 120 He remained related to Partido Liberal also later, noted as its adherent in 1900.as “Francisco Ruiz Ramírez Pérez”, Crónica Meridional 16.12.01, available here The family dominated the municipality, since at the time many of its members held seats in the local ayuntamiento. In the early 20th century Francisco served as teniente de alcaldeCrónica Meridional 06.01.04, available here and in 1904 was reported as elected the mayor of Bentarique,Crónica Meridional 19.01.04, available here though the election was contested and remained the source of controversy for a few years to come.El Radical 18.04.06, available here In 1909 he was again reported merely as a councillor.El Radical 15.12.09, available here He remained a locally recognized figure, since in the 1910s local Almería newspapers noted him on societé columnsLa Independencia 10.09.16, available here and later his funeral would be attended by the civil governor.El Siglo Futuro 02.05.27, available here
At unspecified time Ruiz Ramírez marriedin obituary note he was referred to as “padre y esposo ejemplar”, El Siglo Futuro 02.05.27, available here Aurora Muñoz Reina (1843–1920).Crónica Meridional 17.03.20, available here. She was the daughter of Antonio Muñoz and Francisca Reina, the maternal grandparents of Emilio, El Siglo Futuro 05.12.20, available here There is little known of either her or her family, except that her younger brother—and Emilio's maternal uncle—was Francisco de Paula Muñoz Reina.La Correspondencia de España 23.09.20, available here Ordained a priest, in the 1880s he served as a presbyter in Málaga,El Siglo Futuro 14.09.88, available here then parson of the San Pedro church,El Siglo Futuro 05.09.93, available here and finally the dean of the cathedral, becoming a prestigious personality in the city.La Epoca 17.09.20, available here It is known that he and his nephew maintained very close relations, as reportedly Francisco loved Emilio “like a father”.El Siglo Futuro 17.09.20, available here The uncle was a Traditionalist of the Integrist branch and the follower of Ramón Nocedal; also the father at unspecified time abandoned liberalism and converted to Integrism.he was subscribing to El Siglo Futuro, see El Siglo Futuro 02.05.27, available here; he was also a Franciscan tertiary, El Siglo Futuro 10.05.27, available here It is not clear how many children Francisco and Aurora had; there is none except Emilio known.apart from Emilio no other child was mentioned in Francisco’s obituary note, El Siglo Futuro 10.05.27, available here
According to some sources Emilio's parents moved from Bentarique to Málaga, where reportedly the boy received his primary education;Vegas Latapié 1985, p. 1051 this information is incompatible with sources which claim that at the time his father was still related to Bentarique. Some data might suggest Emilio later frequented Colegio de 2a Enseñanza in Terque (a municipality 2 km from Bentarique); the college was a branch of the Almería Instituto, the state-run secondary education establishment.in 1896 Ruiz Muñoz sent a correspondence from the ceremony of ending the school year in Colegio de 2a Enseñanza in Terque; the text provided no hint as to the author, yet he referred in very warm terms to the teaching staff, Crónica Meridional 08.07.98, available here At unspecified time, though most likely in the early 1890s, the adolescent Emilio decided to follow in the footsteps of his uncle and to commence an ecclesiastic career; he entered the seminary in Málaga.Antonio Pérez de Olaguer, Emilio Ruiz Muñoz entry, [in:] Enciclopedia universal ilustrada europeo-americana, Suplemento 1936/1939 p. 1, Madrid 1944, p. 540 Exact years of education as a seminarist are unknown, yet most likely it was completed prior to 1901; by this time he must have been also ordained a priest, since in 1901 he already appears as a presbyter.El Siglo Futuro 06.04.01, available here He double-majored, graduating both in theology and in canon law.Pérez de Olaguer 1944, p. 540
Ecclesiastic career
In the very early 1900s Ruiz Muñoz was among teaching staff of the Málaga seminary, noted as “elocuente orador sagrado” and “Profesor del Seminario de aquella capital”.in some cases his duties took him as far away as to Jerez de la Frontera, where he delivered sermons during a local ceremony, El Guadalete 20.01.04, available here Apart from oratorical skills, he was also appreciated for his writings, which apparently mattered when in 1903 he applied for the post of a canon by the Málaga cathedral. He lost to a counter-candidate, even though the press claimed the front-runner was unable to produce “disertaciones cual efectuadas por D. Emilio Ruiz Muñóz”.Desde Malaga, [in:] El Defensor de Granada 22.11.1903, p. 2
Since 1904 he was noted as travelling on unspecified duties to Madrid.El Defensor de Granada 27.09.04, available here
Since 1905 Ruiz Muñoz has been mentioned as delivering sermons in the capital, particularly often in 1907–1909. His exact ecclesiastic position is unclear; it seems unlikely that he served as a vicar or a resident in any particular parish, since he is noted speaking in a number of temples. He appeared usually in St. Ginés, consistently noted almost every year between 1905 and 1912.see e.g. El Correo Español 29.11.05, available here, El Siglo Futuro 13.03.07, available here, El Siglo Futuro 13.03.08, available here, El Correo Español 10.03.08, available here, El Siglo Futuro 10.03.09, available here, El Siglo Futuro 17.10.09, available here, El Siglo Futuro 21.10.11, available here, El Siglo Futuro 21.10.12, available here Other churches or chapels where he served most frequently were Cristo de la SaludEl Correo Español 19.05.06, available here, El Siglo Futuro 15.05.06, available here, El Siglo Futuro 15.07.07, available here, El Siglo Futuro 15.05.09, available here and Buen Suceso.El Universo 12.11.05, available here, El Siglo Futuro 31.05.07, available here He was taking part in Eucharistic Congresses in Metz (1907)El Siglo Futuro 02.08.07, available here and in Madrid (1911).El Correo Español 26.06.11, available here He appeared speaking also at meetings of lay Catholic organizations like Asociación Visita Josefina.El Siglo Futuro 20.04.10, available here In 1912 he served as director espiritual of the Cardenal Cisneros college in Madrid.El Siglo Futuro 27.09.13, available here
In 1913 Ruiz Muñoz again applied for the vacant canonjía by the Málaga cathedralLa Prensa 30.04.13, available here and emerged successful;he defeated a certain Francisco Camacho Triviño, El Siglo Futuro 09.04.13, available here he was nominated to the post of canónigo archivero.El Universo 03.06.13, available here Little is known of his seven-year-long spell in Málaga. At times he was noted as delivering sermons or taking part in local Catholic events;El Siglo Futuro 16.04.18, available here he also resumed teaching duties at his alma mater, in 1916 recorded as Catedrático de Historia eclesiástica en el Seminario Conciliar.Fidel Fita, Antigua inscripción cristiana de Málaga, [in:] Boletin Real Academia de la Historia 69 (1916), p. 594 At the time he was heavily engaged in the Madrid-based daily El Siglo Futuro. At an unspecified timethe decision must have been taken no earlier than in 1913, when Ragonesi assumed the nunciatura, and probably no later than in 1920, when Ruiz Muñoz was already firmly established in Madrid the papal nuncio Francesco Ragonesi “por orden a miento de Su Santidad” took an exceptional decisiondecision of the nuncio might have been related to internal controversy within the Catholic Church. Ragonesi was highly skeptical about the emerging Christian Democracy, whom he charged with "l'uso e l'abuso delia frase democrazía cristiana, spiegata dal gran Pontefice Leone XIII, sia per l'inesatezza pericolosa di certi concerti, da lora manifestati sopra il diritto di proprieta, la natura del lavoro e dell'onorario". El Siglo Futuro was known for its stand against the Christian Democrats, quotation and details after Vicente Cárcel Orti, Benedicto XV y el catolicismo social español, [in:] Analecta Sacra Tarraconensia 63–64 (1990), pp. 2–3 and allowed Ruiz Muñoz to move back to Madrid to continue with editorial tasks while retaining his official canon position in Málaga.J. M. de C., Fabio, [in:] La Avalancha 23.01.43, available here
Since 1920 Ruiz Muñoz was back in Madrid. He was fairly seldom noted as delivering sermons in various churches (this time no particular temple prevailing)for Maria Auxiliadora see El Universo 22.05.20, available here, for San Ignacio see El Universo 04.06.22, available here, for San Pedro el Real see El Siglo Futuro 24.06.22, available here, for Santiago El Mayor see El Siglo Futuro 28.02.23, available here and during feasts,Fiesta de San José Madrid, celebrated in Escuelas Salesianas, El Universo 18.03.21, available here funeralsEl Siglo Futuro 23.06.20, available here or weddings.El Siglo Futuro 02.03.26, available here He kept attending religious conferences, e.g. the one organized by Acción Católica in Cáceres (1924)El Siglo Futuro 01.02.24, available here or Asamblea Nacional del Clero in Jaca (1926).El Sol 01.12.26, available here In 1927 he was for the first time listed among “capellanes de honor” by the royal chapel,Guía Oficial de España 1927, p. 950, available here and would consistently appear as “capellán real” of Alfonso XIII.El Siglo Futuro 16.01.31, available here In the early 1930s he was routinely delivering lectures in apologetics to Juventud Católica Femenina de Estudiantes.El Debate 09.02.30, available here, El Siglo Futuro 16.01.31, available here, El Siglo Futuro 08.03.30, available here He remained membership of the Málaga cabildo catedralin a monograph on El Siglo Futuro Ruiz Muñoz is once referred to as "el abate almeriense" and once as "el abate malagueño", see Agudín Menéndez 2023, pp. 155, 426. There is no confirmation he has ever served as an abbot, be it in Almeria or in Malaga and one of its 11 canónigos; he was last mentioned in this role in 1932.Guia Industrial y Artistica de Andalucia 1932, p. 464, available here In Madrid he was most often noted as related to the Buen Suceso church.El Debate 13.04.33, available here, also El Debate 19.03.33, available here In 1935 he was to take care of religious issues in Residencia de Estudiantes, a planned Catholic establishment for university students.El Siglo Futuro 08.08.35, available here
El Siglo Futuro