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 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 ...

. He served as bishop of Socorro y San Gil from 1980 to 1985, archbishop of Nueva Pamplona from 1994 to 1998 and archbishop of

Bucaramanga Bucaramanga () is the capital and largest city of the department of Santander Department, Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth-largest economy by GDP in Colombia, has the lowest unemployment rate and is the ninth most populous city i ...

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 (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

as auxiliary bishop of Bogotá and titular bishop of Afufenia, 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 mo ...

, Auxiliary Archbishop ad personam in Bogotá.

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 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 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 ...

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 20th-century Roman Catholic titular bishops Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II Colombian Roman Catholic bishops People from Santander Department