Felipe Fernández García (30 August 1935 – 6 April 2012) was the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

eleventh 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 E ...

and bishop

Ávila Ávila (, , ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m abov ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It was the eleventh bishop of San Cristóbal de La Laguna. Ordained to the priesthood in 1957, Garcia became bishop in 1976 and retired in 2006.

Biography

He was ordained priest in Plasencia on 28 July 1957. He received episcopal consecration on 28 November 1976 at the

Cathedral of Avila A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, taking possession of the diocese for which he had been appointed by

Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

. On 12 June 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

, also called ''Diocese of Tenerife''. On 24 July 1991, to take possession, making his entry into the diocese on 11 August 1991. Among his important and countless pastoral throughout the year pontificate activities, mainly highlights the convening and holding of the first

Diocesan Synod Nivariense Diocesan Synod Nivariense (in Spanish: ''Sínodo Diocesano Nivariense'', in Latin: ''Synodus Dioecesani Nivariensis'') was an important meeting of the clergy and laity of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Canary Islands, S ...

. Surely, for this reason mainly, his name will be forever linked to the history of the diocese. It also instituted in 2001, the septenary transfers (every seven years) of the image of the Virgin of Candelaria (patron saint of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

) to the cities of

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz (), is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and capital of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz has a population of 206,593 (2013) within its admi ...

(capital of the island of Tenerife) and San Cristóbal de La Laguna (capital of the diocese), beginning with the transfer of the Virgin to Santa Cruz in 2002 and continuing with the transfer to La Laguna in 2009 and so on and so on every seven years between both cities.Tenerife despide al obispo emérito Felipe Fernández
/ref> During his pontificate in Tenerife, on 30 July 2002, the canonization in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

of Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur took place, who became the first canary to be canonized by the Catholic Church. Felipe Fernández attended this canonization along with a large Canarian representation. The ceremony was presided over by

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 ...

. On 29 June 2005 he was appointed apostolic administrator of the diocese to be accepted his resignation for health reasons, which was submitted in September 2004,Felipe Fernandez Garcia
/ref> because she had Parkinson's disease, stopping on 4 September 2005 to take over the new bishop, becoming emeritus bishop of the Diocese of Tenerife. In his pontificate he ordered 68 diocesan priests, 5 religious and 2 permanent deacons. He died on 6 April 2012 at 76 years old, as a result of severe respiratory problems. After being veiled her body in the Episcopal Palace and the Church of the Conception of San Cristóbal de La Laguna was buried in the church itself on 10 April 2012.

Notes

External links

Personal file
in Catholic hierarchy. 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Spain 1935 births 2012 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of San Cristóbal de La Laguna 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Spain {{spain-RC-bishop-stub