Mario Casariego y Acevedo, CRS (13 February 1909 – 15 June 1983) was a Spanish-born Guatemalan Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Guatemala City from 1964 until his death, and was elevated to the

cardinalate The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appoi ...

in 1969.

Biography

Mario Casariego y Acevedo was born in

Castropol Castropol is a municipality in Asturias, Spain. It is also the name of a parish within the municipality and a town within the parish. The municipality of Castropol has a population of 3696 (INE, 2014). It is bounded on the north by the Cantabria ...

to Mario and Ágata (née Acevedo) Casariego. He entered the Clerics Regular of Somasca, more commonly known as the Somascan Fathers, in 1924, and made his

profession A profession is a field of work that has been successfully ''professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, '' professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by ...

on 3 October 1930. Casariego studied at the Somascan houses of studies in Bergamo and

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, and at the Somascan

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

in San Salvador. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

to the priesthood on 19 July 1936, and then did pastoral work at La Ceiba Institute in San Salvador until 1948, whence he became its

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

. From 1954 to 1957, Casariego served as a counselor to his religious order. He was also its provincial superior of Central America from 1957 to 1958. On 15 November 1958, Casariego was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...

and

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 ...

of '' Pudentiana'' by Pope Pius XII. He received his

episcopal consecration 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 ...

on the following 27 December from Pope John himself, with Bishops

Girolamo Bortignon Girolamo Bartolomeo Bortignon, OFM Cap (31 March 1905 – 12 March 1992) was an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as Bishop of Padua from 1949 to 1982. Biography Born in Romano d'Ezzelino, he was ordained as a Capuchin p ...

OFM Cap The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...

, and

Gioacchino Muccin Gioacchino Muccin (25 November 1899 – 27 August 1991) was an Italian Roman Catholic clergyman who became the bishop of the Diocese of Belluno-Feltre. He was born in Casarsa della Delizia, Pordenone, a province in the region of Friuli- ...

serving as co-consecrators, in

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

. Casariego later attended the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

from 1962 to 1965, during which he was promoted to

Coadjutor Archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coad ...

of Guatemala City and Titular Archbishop of ''Perge'' on 22 September 1963. He succeeded the late Mariano Rossell y Arellano as Archbishop of Guatemala City on 12 December 1964. Casariego was kidnapped for several days by a terrorist group (right extremists from a death squad who wanted to blame Guatemalan leftist guerrilla) in March 1968.

Pope 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 State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

created him

Cardinal Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of '' S. Maria in Aquiro'' in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

of 28 April 1969; Casariego was the first cardinal from Guatemala. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the

conclaves A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Co ...

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

and October 1978, which selected Popes John Paul I and

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 ...

respectively. The Cardinal was an ardent supporter of Guatemala's authoritarian regime, so much so that his

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...

was accompanied by a radio patrol and two armed motorcycle guards. In response to the murder of many politically active priests, Casariego said he knew of no murdered clergy in his country, where most accounts claimed there had been at least ten.TIME Magazine
The New Missionary
27 December 1982 Moreover, he also stated, "If you mix in politics, you get what you deserve." Cardinal Casariego died in Guatemala City, at the age of 74. He is buried in the metropolitan cathedral of the same.

References

External links

Catholic-Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casariego Y Acevedo, Mario 1909 births 1983 deaths People from Asturias Guatemalan cardinals 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Guatemala Participants in the Second Vatican Council Cardinals created by Pope Paul VI People from Guatemala City Roman Catholic archbishops of Guatemala (1743-2013)