Eustaquio Ilundain and Esteban was Cardinal of Seville from 1921 to 1937. Linking the political regime with the church, he became a notable authority in the city during the years before the Exhibition and during its celebration, being present at such premier events as the signing of agreements, laying of foundation stones, pavilion openings and, of course, the event itself. His pivotal role resolved the transfer of part of the gardens of the Seminary into the exhibition grounds. 

 

​The Cardinal promoted the worship of the Virgen de la Antigua, the Virgen del Rocío and Guadalupe, and three other important events during the contest: the First Hispanic-American Marian Congress (May 15-21, 1929), the Mariana Exhibition in the Church of the Savior, and the Procession of Images of the Blessed Mary with religious observances in the Seville during the years of the discovery and the colonization of America of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Cardinal died in 1937.