Pedro Rubiano Sáenz (born September 13, 1932) is 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 ...

and Roman Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Bogotá in the

Roman 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 ...

Early life and ordination

Born in

Cartago, Colombia Cartago () is a city in southwestern Colombia, about west of Bogotá. It is in the extreme northern portion of the Valle del Cauca Department. It is located very close to the city of Pereira, about a 20-minute drive. It is the sixth larges ...

, Rubiano Sáenz studied at the seminary in

Popayán Popayán () is the capital of the Colombian departments of Colombia, department of Cauca Department, Cauca. It is located in southwestern Colombia between the Cordillera Occidental (Colombia), Western Mountain Range and Cordillera Central (Colo ...

before his being ordained as a priest on 8 July 1956. He did pastoral ministry 1956–1971. Pastor and founder of the parishes of "San Pedro Claver" and of "Nuestra Señora de la Providencia". He served as treasurer and pastoral vicar of the archdiocese of Cali and vice-rector of the Major School "Santiago di Cali".

Bishop and Archbishop

In 1971, he was named

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 ...

Cúcuta Cúcuta (), officially San José de Cúcuta, is a Colombian municipality, capital of the department of Norte de Santander and nucleus of the Metropolitan Area of Cúcuta. The city is located in the homonymous valley, at the foot of the Eastern ...

. He was consecrated only fifteen years after his ordination to the priesthood and just within the

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical example ...

limit, on 11 July 1972 in Cali, by Archbishop

Angelo Palmas Angelo Palmas (21 December 1914 – 9 June 2003) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. Biography Palmas was born in Villanova Monteleone, Italy, on 21 December 1914. He was ordained a pr ...

, nuncio to Colombia. He was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...

in 1983 and was transferred to the metropolitan and primatial see of Bogotá, 27 December 1994. From 1990 to 1996, he chaired the Colombian Bishops' Conference. On July 11, 2021 he celebrated the golden jubilee of his episcopal ministry after earlier in 2021 celebrating 65 years of his ordination to the priesthood on June 8, 2021.

Cardinal

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 ...

made Rubiano Sáenz

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 Trasfigurazione di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo in the consistory of February 21, 2001. In 2002, he was elected president of the Colombian Episcopal Conference, and he was one of the

cardinal electors 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 ...

who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected

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 ...

. Cardinal Rubiano Sáenz's resignation as Archbishop of Bogotá was accepted by Pope Benedict on 8 July 2010. He was apostolic administrator of the archdiocese until the installation of his successor, Archbishop Jesus Salazar Gómez, on August 13, 2010.

Views

Abortion

Rubiano Sáenz has pleaded with anti-abortion advocates worldwide to join in a massive prayer effort to stop abortion from being legalized in the country. He warned that the procedure leads to an automatic excommunication.

Colombian President

Pedro Rubiano Saenz of Bogotá expressed his opposition against conservative President

Álvaro Uribe Álvaro Uribe Vélez (born 4 July 1952) is a Colombian politician who served as the 31st President of Colombia from 7 August 2002 to 7 August 2010. Uribe started his political career in his home department of Antioquia. He held offices in t ...

running for re-election in 2010.

Chavez and FARC rebels

Rubiano Saenz has said that the intervention by Venezuelan President

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...

is not necessary for achieving an agreement over the exchange of prisoners with the Marxists rebel group FARC.

Honors

Sáenz has been honored with the following: * Order of Boyacá - Silver Cross (Colombia) - ribbon bar

Order of Boyacá The Order of Boyacá ( es, Orden de Boyacá) is the highest peacetime decoration of Colombia. The order is awarded for exceptional service to distinguished Colombian military officers and civilians as well as foreign citizens of friendly nations. E ...

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

Order ''pro merito Melitensi''

References

External links

*
Biography at catholic-pages.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubiano Saenz, Pedro 1932 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Colombia 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Colombia Colombian cardinals Roman Catholic archbishops of Bogotá Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre People from Valle del Cauca Department Roman Catholic archbishops of Cali Roman Catholic bishops of Cúcuta