Bernardo Álvarez Afonso (

Breña Alta Breña Alta (Spanish for Upper Breña) is a municipality on the eastern side of the island of La Palma, in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. The ayuntamiento (municipal office) is in the town of San Pedro, at 350 m a ...

, island of

La Palma La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and officially San Miguel de La Palma, is the most north-westerly island of the Canary Islands, Spain. La Palma has an area of making it the fifth largest of the eight main Canary Islands. The ...

, in the

Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, also Province of Santa Cruz ( es, link=no, Provincia de Santa Cruz de Tenerife), is a province of Spain, consisting of the western part of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands. It consists of about ...

, July 29, 1949) is a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, since September 2005 twelfth bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna ( la, Sancti Christophori de Laguna), also called Diocese of Tenerife or Diocese Nivariense, is a diocese located in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna in the Canary Islands in the ...

(

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

) (Spanish: Diócesis Nivariense). On September 4, 2005 he was declared and credited bishop by Pope

Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

, in the Iglesia de la Concepción (then provisional cathedral of the diocese, as the

Cathedral of La Laguna The Cathedral of San Cristóbal de La Laguna or ( in Spanish) is a Roman Catholic church in Tenerife, Spain. Begun in 1904 and completed in 1915, it is dedicated to the Virgin of Los Remedios (patron of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Cristób ...

was under renovation), the 12th bishop of the Diocese of Tenerife; on the same date he took canonical possession of the diocese. Álvarez is the second canary bishop in governing the diocese after Bishop

Domingo Pérez Cáceres Domingo Pérez Cáceres (November 10, 1892, Güímar, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain) - August 1, 1961, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife) was a Spanish ecclesiastic, eighth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna ...

. In a 2007 interview with local paper ''

La Opinión de Tenerife ''La Opinión de Tenerife'' is a newspaper of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). History and profile ''La Opinión de Tenerife'' was launched online on 11 September 1999 and distributed in print kiosks just ten days la ...

'', he stated "There are adolescents of thirteen years of age who are minors and are totally in agreement and furthermore desire it. Even if you take care they provoke you." This led to a headline reading "Bishop of Tenerife blames child abuse on the children". In 2014, it was able to reopen the Cathedral of La Laguna, after twelve years closed by a major restoration. That same year 2014, the canonization of Blessed

José de Anchieta José de Anchieta y Díaz de Clavijo (Joseph of Anchieta) (19 March 1534 – 9 June 1597) was a Spanish Jesuit missionary to the Portuguese colony of Brazil in the second half of the 16th century. A highly influential figure in Brazil's hi ...

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

took place. On April 24, the Mass of thanksgiving for the canonization presided over by the Pope was celebrated in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and attended by Bishop Bernardo Álvarez accompanied by a Canarian representation. José de Anchieta born in Tenerife and missionary in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, became the second canary to be canonized by the Catholic Church, after the

Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur (or Betancourt) y Gonzáles ( es, Pedro de San José de Betancur y Gonzáles, March 21, 1626 (Tenerife) – April 25, 1667 ( Antigua Guatemala), called Hermano Pedro de San José Betancurt (''Brother Peter o ...

in 2002. On December 21, 2019, Álvarez opened the

Holy Door A Holy Door ( la, Porta Sancta) is traditionally an entrance portal located within the Papal major basilicas in Rome. The doors are normally sealed by mortar and cement from the inside so that they cannot be opened. They are ceremoniously ope ...

of the Cathedral of San Cristóbal de La Laguna on the occasion of the

Jubilee Year A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of ...

for the 200th anniversary of the founding of the diocese.La Puerta Santa de la Catedral se abre el 21 por el bicentenario de la Diócesis
/ref>

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in Catholic-hierarchy {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez Afonso, Bernardo 1949 births Living people Roman Catholic bishops of San Cristóbal de La Laguna 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Spain

See also

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