Víctor Manuel López Forero (29 March 1931 – 23 September 2023) was a Colombian 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 ...

. He served as bishop of Socorro y San Gil from 1980 to 1985, archbishop of

Nueva Pamplona Pamplona (pronounced ) is a municipality and city in Norte de Santander, Colombia. It is also the fifth most populated municipality in the department. History Colonization The town was founded on 1 November 1549 as Nueva Pamplona del Valle del ...

from 1994 to 1998 and archbishop of

Bucaramanga Bucaramanga () is the capital and largest city of the department of Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth-largest economy by GDP in Colombia, has the lowest unemployment rate and has the ninth-largest population in the country, with 68 ...

from 1998 to 2009.

Biography

Víctor Manuel López Forero was ordained a priest on 27 October 1957 and was incardinated into the clergy of the Archdiocese of Bogotá. He was appointed by

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 ...

as auxiliary bishop of Bogotá and titular bishop of

Afufenia Afufenia (also called ''Afufeniensis'') was a Roman era city in the province of Byzacena. Its exact location is unknown, but it would have been situated in central Tunisia. Afufenia was also the seat of an ancient Catholic bishopric. and was menti ...

, on 6 May 1977. The Archbishop of Bogotá and Military Vicar of Colombia, Cardinal

Aníbal Muñoz Duque Aníbal Muñoz Duque (3 October 1908 – 15 January 1987) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop of Bogotá. Biography He was born in Santa Rosa de Osos, Colombia as the son of José María Muñoz and Ana Rosa Duque. He was educated ...

, ordained López bishop on 29 June of the same year; The co-consecrators were José Gabriel Calderón Contreras, Bishop of Cartago, and

Alfonso López Trujillo Alfonso López Trujillo (8 November 1935 – 19 April 2008) was a Colombian Cardinal Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church and president of the Pontifical Council for the Family. Biography Youth Born in Villahermosa, Tolima, López Trujillo mov ...

, Auxiliary Archbishop ad personam in Bogotá.

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 ...

appointed López as Bishop of Socorro y San Gil on 6 December 1980. On 7 June 1985, he was named Military Vicar of Colombia and Titular Bishop of Cilíbia. On 21 June 1994, he was named Archbishop of Nueva Pamplona. On 27 June 1998, he was named Archbishop of Bucaramanga. On 13 February 2009,

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 López's request to resign due to age. López died in Bucaramanga on 23 September 2023, at the age of 92.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez Forero, Victor Manuel 1931 births 2023 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Colombia 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Colombia 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Colombia Roman Catholic titular bishops Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II Colombian Roman Catholic bishops People from Santander Department