Julián Carrón was born in 1950 at Navaconcejo (Caceres, Spain).When still very young, he entered the Conciliar Seminary, Madrid, where he completed high school and pursued theological studies. He was ordained priest in 1975, and the following year obtained a degree in theology, specializing in Holy Scripture at Comillas Pontifical University.

He was lecturer at Madrid’s Complutense University.

He was appointed Èleve Titulaire at the French École Biblique et Archéologique in Jerusalem, where he worked under M.-É Boismard. He spent one year researching at Catholic University of America (Washington D.C.), and was lecturer at the Theological Studium of Madrid’s Conciliar Seminary.

He was head of the Minor Seminary. Where he taught Religion, and was in charge of pastoral care in the Collegio Arcivescovile de la Immaculada of San Dámaso (Madrid), and was rector of the same college 1987-1994.

He gained a doctorate in theology in the Facoltà Teologica del Norte de España, at Burgos, in 1984. He was lecturer at the San Dámaso Institute of Theology, Religious Science and Catechetics and ordinary professor of New Testament at the San Dámaso Theological Faculty, Madrid, where he taught “Introduction to Holy Scripture,” “The Pauline Corpus and Acts of Apostles,” and “Origins of Christianity.” He was also member of the editorial committee of “Studia Semitica Novi Testamenti.” He was director of Madrid’s San Justino Institute of Classical and Eastern Philology. He gave numerous conferences on the historicity of the Gospels in Madrid, Milan, Bologna, Rome, Florence and Rimini, and lessons at New York University, the Catholic University of Washington John Paul II Institute, and San Francisco University, on the theme “In Search of Certainty about the Historic Value of the Gospels,” in February 1996. In addition to numerous articles in various reviews, he has published El Mesías manifestado. Tradición literaria y trasfondo judío de Hch 3, 19-26 (Studia Semitica Novi Testamenti 2, Madrid 1993). He was director of the Spanish edition of the international Catholic Review, Communio, of the review Estudios Biblicos, and also of the Library of the San Dámaso Theological Faculty, Madrid, and of the Institute of Religious Sciences linked to the same Faculty.

In September 2004, he moved to Milan, at the request of Fr. Luigi Giussani, founder of the ecclesial movement Communion and Liberation, to share the responsibility for leading the whole movement. On March 19, 2005, the Central Diaconia of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation nominated him successor of Fr. Giussani, who had died on 22 February the same year. On May13th, 2005, the Pontifical Council for the Laity appointed him Ecclesiastical Assistant to the Association Memores Domini. Since the academic year 2004-2005, he has taught Introduction to Theology at the Catholic University “Sacro Cuore,” Milan. Nominated by the Holy Father, he participated as a member of the Synod of Bishops on the Holy Eucharist 2-23 October 2005. On June 3, 2006, he spoke in St. Peter’s Square during Pope Benedict XVI’s meeting with the ecclesial movements.

On March 24, 2007, he led the CL international pilgrimage for the audience granted by the Holy Father on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Pontifical recognition of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation.On March 8, 2008, the Holy Father appointed him Consultor of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. He is the director of the series “I Libri dello Spirito Cristiano” published by Rizzoli and of the record label “Spirto Gentil,” both founded by Fr. Giussani.