José María Libório Camino Saracho (13 November 1931 – 30 August 2021) was a Spanish-Brazilian

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

. He served as the

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the Roman Catholic Diocese of São Miguel Paulista from 1999 to 2002,

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Urusi Urusi was a civitas and ancient bishopric, episcopal see of the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis in present-day Tunisia. The town flourished from 30BC until 640AD and has been tentatively identified with ruins at Henchir Soudga, () in Siliana ...

from 1999 to 2002, and the Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Presidente Prudente The Diocese of Presidente Prudente () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Southern Brazil. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolita ...

from 2002 until his retirement in April 2008. Libório was born on 13 November 1931, in

Santurtzi Santurtzi (; ) is a port of Bilbao, port town in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, Spain. It is located in the Bilbao Abra bay, near the mouth of the Nervión river, on it ...

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

province in Spain's Basque Country. His childhood was dominated by the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. He was ordained a

Catholic priest 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 common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

on July 6, 1958. He arrived as 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 ...

in 1967. Libório became a priest at the São Benedito parish in the Guaianases of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

in February 1968.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed him as the simultaneous auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of São Miguel Paulista and the titular bishop of

on 16 July 1999. His ordination took place on September 29, 1999. Libório was appointed the 4th Bishop of the

on 20 February 2002, and ordained on 7 April 2002. He served until his retirement on 17 August 2008. Bishop Emeritus José María Libório Camino Saracho died from complications of

gallbladder In vertebrates, the gallbladder, also known as the cholecyst, is a small hollow Organ (anatomy), organ where bile is stored and concentrated before it is released into the small intestine. In humans, the pear-shaped gallbladder lies beneath t ...

surgery at Santa Maggiore Hospital in

on 30 August 2021, at the age of 89. He was buried in the

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

of the Catedral São Miguel Arcanjo in São Miguel Paulista on 31 August 2021.

References

1931 births 2021 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Presidente Prudente Brazilian Roman Catholic bishops 20th-century Roman Catholic titular bishops 21st-century Roman Catholic titular bishops Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II Naturalized citizens of Brazil Spanish emigrants to Brazil People from Presidente Prudente People from Santurtzi {{Brazil-RC-bishop-stub