 He entered the seminary in Compostela where he did his ecclesiastical studies and graduated in theology.He was ordained a priest on 15 June 1980 by Pope John Paul II.To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1980 He earned a licentiate in Dogmatic Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (the "Angelicum").