Leopoldo José Brenes Solórzano (; born 7 March 1949, in

Ticuantepe Ticuantepe is a town and a municipality in the Managua department of Nicaragua with an estimated population of 38,520. Etymology Ticuantepe comes from the Nahuatl language of the first inhabitants of Nicaragua. ''Ticuane'', which means fierce or ...

) is a

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

n prelate 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 has been archbishop of

Managua ) , settlement_type = Capital city , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Nicara ...

since 2005. He was made a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

in 2014. He was an auxiliary bishop of Managua from 1988 to 1991 and bishop of Matagalpa from 1991 to 2005.

Biography

Leopoldo Brenes was born in

on 7 March 1949. He studied first at Rural School of Ticuantepe, Cristóbal Rugada School of Masaya, and Escuela Normal of Managua and then continued his secondary studies at the National Institute of Masaya and at Colegio San José de Calasanz. He then studied philosophy at the National Seminary Nuestra Señora de Fátima of Managua; theology at the Superior Institute of Ecclesiastical Studies (ISEE), México. He earned a bachelor's degree in theology at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

in Rome and a licentiate in dogmatic theology at the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University ( it, Pontificia Università Lateranense; la, Pontificia Universitas Lateranensis), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Ponti ...

in Rome. He was ordained a deacon on 13 January 1974.

Priesthood

He was ordained a priest in Managua on 16 August 1974 by Miguel Obando Bravo. He then served in a number of roles, including priest in the parishes of Tisma, Las Brisas, la Asunción, and St. Pius X in Managua, and vicar for pastoral care and substitute vicar general of the Archdiocese of Managua. He was later a parish priest of Sagrada Familia, María Inmaculada, San Pío X, Espíritu Santo and Santa Rosa and San Agustín in Managua, and vicar for pastoral care of the Archdiocese of Managua and episcopal vicar for vocations and ministries.

Bishop and archbishop

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 ...

named him

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Maturba Maturba is a locality in Algeria, North Africa. During the Roman Empire there was a Roman town located here. That town flourished in late antiquity from AD 300 to AD640. The town did not last long after the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb. Matu ...

and appointed him auxiliary bishop of Managua on 13 February 1988. He was consecrated a bishop on 19 March 1988 in the cathedral of Managua by Cardinal Miguel Obando Bravo, Archbishop of Managua, assisted by Paolo Giglio, apostolic nuncio to Nicaragua, and

Arturo Rivera Damas Arturo Rivera y Damas (September 30, 1923 – November 26, 1994) was the ninth Bishop and fifth Archbishop of San Salvador, El Salvador. Msgr. Rivera's term as archbishop (1983–1994) coincided with the Salvadoran Civil War. He was the immediate ...

, Archbishop of San Salvador. His episcopal motto is ''Tu me has enviado''. He was made Bishop of Matagalpa on 2 November 1991 and made Archbishop of Managua on 1 April 2005. He took possession of the see on 21 May. He received the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolit ...

from

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 ...

on 29 June 2005. In the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua he has been president of the Commission for Vocations and Ministries; secretary general of the Episcopal Conference; president of Cáritas Nacional; president of the Commission for Catechesis; and president of the Commission for Social Communications. He has served as a delegate for the Eucharistic Congresses, delegate to the Special Assembly for America of the Synod of Bishops, delegate to the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM), President of the CELAM Commission Family-Life-Youth, President of the Episcopal Secretariat of Central America (SEDAC). He has been Vice-president of the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua and its president. Pope Benedict named him to a five-year term as a member of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America on 8 October 2009.

Cardinal

On 22 February 2014,

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. ...

made him a cardinal, assigning him the titular church of San Gioacchino ai Prati di Castello. On 15 January 2014 Pope Francis confirmed his membership in the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and on 22 May 2014 made him a member of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

References

External links