Román Arrieta Villalobos, known as ''Manzanita'' (1924-2004), was a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. He was born in San Antonio de Belén, Costa Rica, on November 13, 1924. He finished his secondary studies in Heredia before entering the Conciliar Seminary of San José, Costa Rica. Ordained in the

Metropolitan Cathedral of San José The Metropolitan Cathedral of San José () is a cathedral in San José, Costa Rica San José (; meaning "Saint Joseph") is the capital city, capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of San José Province. It is in the center ...

on December 18, 1948 by Mons. Víctor Manuel Sanabria Martínez and sent by him to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, to undertake his postgraduate studies. He was consecrated as first

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of Tilarán on September 21, 1961 at the

Alajuela Alajuela () is a district in the Alajuela (canton), Alajuela canton of the Alajuela Province of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Alajuela canton, it is awarded the status of city. By virtue of being the city of the first canton of ...

Cathedral. On July 10, 1979 he was appointed Archbishop of San José, a post he held until his resignation on July 13, 2002. He took part in the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

where he was a member of the Commission on

Canon Law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

. He established the Minor Seminary of Tacares. He created a system of Social Security for the church employees, restored the Metropolitan Cathedral, and promoted the establishment of the Universidad Católica de Costa Rica. He died in the home where he was born on March 7, 2004.

External links

Arquidócesis de San José
1924 births 2004 deaths Participants in the Second Vatican Council People from Heredia Province 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Costa Rica Roman Catholic bishops of Tilarán-Liberia Roman Catholic archbishops of San José de Costa Rica {{CostaRica-RC-archbishop-stub