Jesús Rubén Darío Salazar Gómez (; born 22 September 1942) is a Colombian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Metropolitan Archbishop of Bogotá from 2010 to 2020. He was made a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

in 2012. He was Metropolitan Archbishop of Barranquilla from 1999 to 2010.

Early life and ministry

Jesús Rubén Darío Salazar Gómez was born in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, in 1942. He completed his high school studies and philosophy at the seminary of

Ibagué Ibagué () (referred to as San Bonifacio de Ibagué del Valle de las Lanzas during the New Kingdom of Granada, Spanish period) is the capital of Tolima Department, Tolima, one of the 32 departments that make up the Republic of Colombia. The city ...

. At the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

in Rome he followed the theological studies, obtaining a licentiate in dogmatic theology. He obtained his Licentiate in Sacred Scripture at the

Pontifical Biblical Institute The Pontifical Biblical Institute (also known as Biblicum) is a research and postgraduate teaching institution specialised in biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies located in Rome. Founded in 1909 by Pope Pius X, it is an institution of the ...

in Rome. He was ordained a priest on 20 May 1967 and then held various positions including: pastor, seminary professor, director of the Department of Social Pastoral of the Colombian Episcopal Conference, and

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

for Pastoral Care.

Bishop

He was named Bishop of Cúcuta on 11 February 1992 and was consecrated on 25 March. On 18 March 1999 he was appointed Archbishop of Barranquilla. He was appointed Archbishop of

on 8 July 2010. He took possession of the see on 13 August. During his installation, Salazar Gómez said that he would be focusing on three priorities: "protecting marriage as the union between one man and one woman, saving innocent life in the womb, and promoting peace in Colombia". Referring to the work of his predecessor, Cardinal Rubiano Sáenz, he said that "I will support each and every one of you with the affection of a father, a brother, a friend, because we have an arduous common task." He added that it is necessary "to discern together the will of the Lord for his people and to strengthen the conditions that will make possible a joint evangelizing endeavour."

Cardinal

He was created a

by Pope Benedict XVI in a

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 ...

on 24 November 2012. As

cardinal priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

he was assigned the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church () is a Churches in Rome, church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the Holy orders in the Catholic Church, clergy who is created a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal. These are Catholic churches in ...

of San Gerardo Maiella. On 31 January 2013,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

named him a member of the

Pontifical Commission for Latin America The Pontifical Commission for Latin America is a department of the Roman Curia that since 1958 has been charged with providing assistance to and examining matters pertaining to the Catholic Church in Latin America. The Commission operates under t ...

and the

Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (''Justitia et Pax'') was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia dedicated to "action-oriented studies" for the international promotion of justice, peace, and human rights from the perspective of the ...

. He participated as a

cardinal elector A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

in the

2013 papal conclave A papal conclave was held on 12 and 13 March 2013 to elect a new pope to succeed Benedict XVI, who had resigned on 28 February 2013. Of the 117 eligible Cardinal electors in the 2013 papal conclave, cardinal electors, all but two attended. On th ...

that elected

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

. Pope Francis appointed him a member of the

Congregation for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usu ...

on 16 December 2013. In May 2015, he was elected to a four-year term as president of the Latin American Bishops Conference (CELAM). On 25 April 2020,

accepted his resignation as Archbishop of Bogota and appointed

Luis José Rueda Aparicio Luis José Rueda Aparicio (born 3 March 1962) is a Catholic Church in Colombia, Colombian Catholic prelate who has served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bogotá, Archbishop of Bogotá since 2020. He was previously Roman Catholic Archdiocese o ...

to succeed him. On 8 March 2022 Salazar was admitted to hospital suffering heart problems and after surgery to insert a stent he remained in intensive care.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Salazar Gomez, Ruben Dario Living people 1942 births 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Colombia Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI Pontifical Biblical Institute alumni Members of the Congregation for Bishops Colombian cardinals Roman Catholic archbishops of Bogotá Roman Catholic archbishops of Barranquilla Roman Catholic bishops of Cúcuta