Rafael Merry del Val y Zulueta, was a Spanish Catholic bishop, Vatican official, and cardinal.
Portrait by Giuseppe Felici, ca. 1914
Eugenio Pacelli (later Pope Pius XII), Merry del Val and Nicola Canali at the 1914 signing of the Serbian concordat underneath a portrait of Pope Pius X.
Cardinal Merry del Val's tomb in the Vatican grottoes, Saint Peter's Basilica.
Order of Leopold (Belgium)
The Order of Leopold is one of the three current Belgian national honorary orders of knighthood. It is the oldest and highest order of Belgium and is named in honour of its founder, King Leopold I. It consists of a military, a maritime and a civil division. The maritime division is only awarded to personnel of the merchant navy, and the military division to military personnel. The decoration was established on 11 July 1832 and is awarded by Royal decree.
Leopold I, first King of the Belgians, Founder and First Grand Master of the Order.
Uniform of HM Albert I, Royal Collection of Belgium
Count Paul de Smet de Naeyer, Grand Cordon
King Albert II (on the right) in 2005, with the Dominican Ambassador to Brussels