Sergio Obeso Rivera (; 31 October 1931 – 11 August 2019) was a Mexican

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

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 ...

. He was Archbishop of Xalapa from 1979 to 2007 after serving as Bishop of Papantla from 1971 to 1974 and then as

coadjutor 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: * Coadj ...

in Xalapa from 1974 to 1979.

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. ...

created him 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 ...

on 28 June 2018.

Biography

Sergio Obeso Rivera was born in

Xalapa Xalapa or Jalapa (, ), officially Xalapa-Enríquez (), is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which ...

, Mexico on 31 October 1931. His father was a native of

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...

, Spain, and his mother was from Las Vigas de Ramírez, where he was raised. He entered the seminary in Xalapa on 23 January 1944 and was ordained in Rome on 31 October 1954 and while earning his doctorate 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 ...

. Until 1971 he held various positions at the Xalapa seminary, including prefect of philosophy, spiritual director, and rector. On 30 April 1971,

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, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

appointed him Bishop of Papantla and he was consecrated a bishop on 29 July. On 18 January 1974, Pope Paul appointed him titular archbishop of

Uppenna Uppenna or Upenna is a Tunisian archaeological site located on the site of the present locality of Henchir Chigarnia. The site has delivered a basilica and the remains of a fortress . Location The site is located at Henchir Fraga at 36° 09′ 57 ...

and Archbishop Coadjutor of Xalapa, and on 12 March 1979 he became Archbishop of Xalapa. He was elected to the three three-year terms as president of the

Episcopal Conference of Mexico The Mexican Episcopal Conference ( es, Conferencia del Episcopado Mexicano) is an organization of Catholic bishops, known as an episcopal conference. It is the official leadership body of the Catholic Church in Mexico. Organization The organizati ...

in 1982, 1985, and 1994. He was also president of the Conference's Commission for Social Pastoral Care in 2002 when it called for reform of Mexico's Law of Indian Rights and Culture in a statement that said: "It is not possible to continue to live in a Mexico divided by racism and discrimination. The Indian peoples justly deserve the recognition of their cultures, of their way of seeing things, and of their autonomy."

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 ...

accepted his resignation on 10 April 2007.

made Obeso a

on 28 June 2018, assigning him the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary de ...

San Leone I The church of San Leone is a church of Rome in Prenestino-Labicano district, in via Prenestina. It is dedicated to the fifth-century pope, Pope Leo I. History The church was built by the architect Giuseppe Zander between 1950 and 1952. It is t ...

. He took possession of his titular church at a Mass on 1 July. In August 2018, Obeso said that while some accusations made by victims of

Catholic Church sexual abuse cases There have been many cases of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, nuns, Popes and other members of religious life. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the cases have involved many allegations, investigations, trials, convictions, ac ...

are valid, about those who make accusations of

pedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

against

Catholic cleric The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

s some should be "ashamed" to point their finger and "should have a little pity because they have tails that are stepped on, very long." He died on 11 August 2019 at his home in Coatepec.

References

External links

*
Archdiocese of Xalapa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obeso Rivera, Sergio 1931 births 2019 deaths Bishops appointed by Pope Paul VI Cardinals created by Pope Francis People from Xalapa Mexican people of Spanish descent Pontifical Gregorian University alumni 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Mexico 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Mexico Mexican cardinals

Biography

See also

References

External links