Bernardo Álvarez Afonso (born 29 July 1949) is a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna in

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

, commonly known as the Diocese of Tenerife, from 2005 to 2024.

Biography

Bernardo Álvarez Afonso was born on 29 July 1949 in Breña Alta, island of

La Palma La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and historically San Miguel de La Palma, is the most northwesterly island of the Canary Islands, a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the North Atlantic Ocean. La Pa ...

, in the

Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, also Province of Santa Cruz (), is a province of Spain, consisting of the western part of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands. It consists of about half of the Atlantic archipelago: the islands o ...

. He studied technical architecture and then entered the diocesan seminary. He was ordained a priest on 16 July 1976. In 1994 he earned a licentiate in theology 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 ...

. On 29 June 2005,

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 bishop of San Cristóbal de La Laguna. He received his episcopal consecration on 4 September in the Iglesia de la Concepción, the provisional cathedral of the diocese, from Archbishop

Manuel Monteiro de Castro Manuel Monteiro de Castro (born 29 March 1938) is a Portuguese prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1967 to 2009, with the rank of archbishop and the title of nuncio from 1985. His assignments ...

, Apostolic Nuncio to Spain. Álvarez was the second native of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

to lead the diocese after Bishop

Domingo Pérez Cáceres Domingo Pérez Cáceres (November 10, 1892, Güímar, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain) - August 1, 1961, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife) was a Spanish ecclesiastic, eighth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Cristóbal de La La ...

. In a 2007 interview with local paper '' La Opinión de Tenerife'', he stated: "There are adolescents of thirteen years of age who are minors and are totally in agreement and furthermore desire it. Even if you take care they provoke you." This led to a headline reading "Bishop of Tenerife blames child abuse on the children". In 2014, the canonization of Blessed José de Anchieta by

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 ...

took place. On April 24, the Mass of thanksgiving for the canonization presided over by the Pope was celebrated in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and attended by Bishop Bernardo Álvarez accompanied by a Canarian representation. José de Anchieta born in Tenerife and missionary in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, became the second canary to be canonized by the Catholic Church, after the

Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur (or Betancourt) y Gonzáles, OFB (, 21 March 1626– 25 April 1667), also called Hermano Pedro de San José Betancurt (''Brother Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur'') or more simply Peter de Betancurt, Hermano ...

in 2002. On 21 December 2019, Álvarez opened the Holy Door of the Cathedral of San Cristóbal de La Laguna on the occasion of the Jubilee Year for the 200th anniversary of the founding of the diocese. Pope Francis accepted his resignation on 16 September 2024.

References

;Additional sources * * *

External links

Don Bernardo Álvarez Afonso. XII Obispo Nivariense

in Catholic-hierarchy {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez Afonso, Bernardo 1949 births Living people People from La Palma Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Roman Catholic bishops of San Cristóbal de La Laguna 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Spain