Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel (born 1 May 1940) is a
Mexican prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...
of the
Catholic Church
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 ...
who served as
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 c ...
of
Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas from 2000 to 2015. From 1991 to 2000 he was
Bishop of Tapachula.
Pope Francis raised him to the rank of
cardinal on 28 November 2020.
Biography
Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel was born on 1 May 1940 in
Coatepec Harinas, Estado de México.
He was ordained a priest on 25 August 1963.
On 7 February 1991,
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
appointed him
Bishop of Tapachula. He received his episcopal consecration on 7 March 1991 from Archbishop
Girolamo Prigione
Girolamo Prigione (12 October 1921 – 27 May 2016) was an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1951 to 1997. He became an archbishop in 1968 and from then until retirement held pos ...
.
On 31 March 2000, Pope John Paul named him Bishop of San Cristobal de las Casas. He succeeded Bishop
Samuel Ruiz García, a social progressive who had defended the rights of the indigenous peoples and of the Zapatista rebels. Arizmendi consistently defended Ruiz against his many critics. Arizmendi has a reputation for being theologically conservative but socially progressive.
In 2012, he announced that he would be organizing efforts to translate the Catholic Mass and the Bible into the indigenous language
Nahuatl.
On 1 May 2015, Arizmendi submitted his resignation to
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. ...
, but was asked to remain. His resignation was accepted on 3 November 2017.
On 25 October 2020, Pope Francis announced he would raise him to the rank of
cardinal at a consistory scheduled for 28 November 2020. At that consistory, Pope France made him Cardinal-Priest of
San Luigi Maria Grignion de Montfort
The church of San Luigi Maria Grignion de Montfort is a church in Rome, in the Primavalle district, on Avenue of the Montfort, dedicated to Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673–1716).
History
It was designed by architect Francesco Rom ...
. Arizmendi took possession of his titular church the next day.
See also
*
Cardinals created by Pope Francis
Pope Francis () has created cardinals at eight consistories held at roughly annual intervals beginning in 2014, most recently on 27 August 2022. He has created 121 cardinals from 66 countries, 23 of which had never been represented in the Col ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Esquivel, Felipe Arizmendi
1940 births
21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Mexico
Living people
People from the State of Mexico
Cardinals created by Pope Francis
Mexican cardinals
20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Mexico