[1] He left Rome to become the Auditor of the nunciature in Spain in 1884 and was promoted to be the chargé d'affaires in 1887.
He returned to the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs to become its secretary (in effect its chief official as the Pope held the title of Prefect) on 13 July 1891.
He was created and Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Portico[2] by Pope Leo XIII in the consistory of 18 May 1894.
He resigned his post at the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs the same day and was appointed Archivist of the Holy Roman Church[1] on 4 July 1896.
Lumen Association website Il Cardinale Francesco Segna by Terenzio Flamini (online copy in Italian)