Biography
Octavio Beras Rojas was born in Santa Lucía, in El Seibo Province, as the eldest of the three children of Octavio Beras Zorrilla, congressman and governor of El Seibo, and Teresa Rojas Santana (a great-granddaughter of Pedro Santana#Family, Ramón Santana). He received his first Communion from Archbishop Adolfo Alejandro Nouel, and studied at the Seminary of St. Thomas Aquinas, in Santo Domingo from 1923 to 1926. He was then sent to Rome, where he studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University whilst residing at the Pontifical ''Collegio Pio Latino Americano''. Later returning to the Santo Domingo seminary for health reasons, Beras was Holy Orders, ordained to the Priesthood (Catholic Church), priesthood on 13 August 1933 and then did Parish (Catholic Church), pastoral work in Santiago de los Caballeros until 1935, whence he was transferred to Santo Domingo. Whilst there, from 1935 to 1945, he served successively as secretary general of Diocese, archdiocese; Executive director, director of the ecclesiastical bulletin, weekly newspaper ''Verdad Católica'', and of the Catholic Radio broadcasting, radio station; President (corporate title), president of the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical tribunal; and organizer of the archdiocesan synod. He also founded the Federation of Catholic Youth Work, Catholic Youth, and was named an Title of honor, honorary Canon (priest), canon of the Metropolitan bishop, metropolitan Chapter (religion), chapter, Promagistrate, pro-vicar general, and Curate, pastor of the metropolitan cathedral. On 2 May 1945 Beras was appointed Coadjutor bishop, Coadjutor Archbishop of Santo Domingo and Titular bishop, Titular Archbishop of ''Euchaitae'' by Pope Pius XII. He received his Bishop (Catholic Church), episcopal consecration on the following 12 August from Archbishop Manuel Arteaga y Betancourt, with Archbishop Enrique Pérez Serantes and Bishop Aloysius Willinger, Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, CSSR, serving as Consecrator, co-consecrators. After becoming Apostolic Administrator ''sede plena'' of Santo Domingo, Beras acted as the secretary general of the first conference of the Latin American Episcopal Conference, from 25 July to 2 August 1955, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He later succeeded the late Ricardo Pittini Piussi, Salesians of Don Bosco, SDB, as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santo Domingo, Archbishop of Santo Domingo, and thus primate (bishop), Primate of the Dominican Republic, on 10 December 1961. Beras was appointed Military ordinariate, Military Vicar for the Dominican Republic on 8 December 1962, and was a member of the Central Preparatory Commission Second Vatican Council, of the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965. In 1965, he was also made President of the Episcopal Conference of Dominican Republic. Pope Paul VI created him Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal Priest of San Sisto Vecchio, S. Sisto in the Papal consistory, consistory of 24 May 1976. Beras, the first Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal from the Dominican Republic, was one of the Cardinal electors in Papal conclaves, August and October 1978, cardinal electors who participated in the Papal conclave, conclaves of Papal conclave, August 1978, August and Papal conclave, October 1978, October 1978, which selected Pope John Paul I, Popes John Paul I and Pope John Paul II, John Paul II respectively. He resigned as his post as Archbishop on 15 November 1981, after nearly twenty years of service, and his post in the military vicariate a year later, on 15 November 1982. Beras lost the right to participate in any conclaves upon reaching the age of eighty on 16 November 1986. The Cardinal died in Santo Domingo, at age 84. He is buried at the primatial and metropolitan cathedral of the same, the Catedral de Santa María la MenorExternal links