Jorge Liberato Urosa y Savino (28 August 1942 – 23 September 2021) was a Venezuelan prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He was auxiliary bishop of Caracas from 1982 to 1990, Archbishop of Valencia from 1990 to 2005, and Archbishop of Caracas from 2005 to 2018. He was made a cardinal in 2006.

Biography

Early life and ordination

Jorge Urosa was born in Caracas to Luis Manuel Urosa Joud and Ligia Savino del Castillo de Urosa. He studied

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

at Colegio De La Salle Tienda Honda, and philosophy at the Interdiocesan Seminary of Caracas. From 1962 to 1965, he studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at St. Augustine's Seminary in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada. Urosa then attended the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

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, where he obtained his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

dogmatic theology Dogmatic theology, also called dogmatics, is the part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and God's works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Ch ...

, until 1971. During his time at the Gregorian, he returned to Caracas to be

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

to the priesthood by Cardinal José Quintero Parra on 15 August 1967.

Professor

After concluding his Roman studies at the Pius Latin American Pontifical College, Urosa served as a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

and the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the Seminary San José in Caracas. He later served as rector of the Interdiocesan Seminary in Caracas as well. Before becoming

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...

of the Archdiocese of Caracas, he was President of the Organization of Latin American Seminaries and founded a parochial vicariate in a '' chabolas'' neighborhood of Caracas.

Bishop

On 6 July 1982, Urosa was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Caracas and

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 ...

of Vegesela in Byzacena by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on the following 22 September from Archbishop

José Lebrún Moratinos José Lebrún Moratinos (19 March 1919 – 21 February 2001) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop of Caracas. Besides his native Spanish, he spoke Italian, Latin and French. Early life and priesthood He was born in Puerto Cabello, ...

, with Archbishops Domingo Roa Pérez and Miguel Salas Salas CIM serving as co-consecrators. Urosa was named Archbishop of Valencia on 16 March 1990, and Archbishop of Caracas on 19 September 2005. He was elected as the second

Vice-President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

of the

Venezuelan Episcopal Conference The Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV) ( es, Conferencia Episcopal Venezolana) is a permanent institution. Its stated aim is, according to Second Vatican Council, associated with the Bishops of the Republic to exercise together, as an express ...

on 10 January 2006.

Cardinal

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

created him

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of Santa Maria ai Monti in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

of 24 March 2006. Urosa was the fifth member of the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are app ...

from Venezuela. Besides his native Spanish, he spoke English, Italian, French, and Latin. As of October 2011, he was the Honorary President of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the

2013 papal conclave The 2013 papal conclave was convened to elect a pope to succeed Pope Benedict XVI following his resignation on 28 February 2013. After the 115 participating cardinal-electors gathered, they set 12 March 2013 as the beginning of the conclave. ...

that elected

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

. Pope Francis accepted his resignation as archbishop on 9 July 2018. Urosa rejected the creation of the Reformed Catholic Church in Venezuela, whose representatives were introduced in July 2008, as in line with the socialism of President Hugo Chávez. He called the group "an irregular association". Urosa and his auxiliary bishops warned against using the

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

for political purposes and declared that the mass at which a blessing was given to the President-elect of Paraguay, former bishop

Fernando Lugo Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez (; born 30 May 1951) is a Paraguayan politician and laicized Catholic bishop who was President of Paraguay from 2008 to 2012. Previously he was a Roman Catholic priest and bishop, serving as Bishop of the Diocese ...

, was not authorized by the archdiocese.

Illness and death

On 27 August 2021, Urosa was admitted to a clinic in Caracas and diagnosed with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

. He received the sacrament of the sick before being transferred to the intensive care unit and placed on a ventilator. On 3 September 2021, the Caracas archdiocese denied rumours circulating in the media that the cardinal had died but said the cardinal's health was in a delicate but stable condition and he was receiving all the necessary medical interventions in the intensive care ward. On 12 September, the archdiocese said the cardinal's health had deteriorated and he was in very delicate health. Cardinal Urosa died from the virus on 23 September 2021, after being hospitalized for a month.

References

External links

*
Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urosa, Jorge 1942 births 2021 deaths Venezuelan cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Venezuela Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Members of the Congregation for the Clergy Roman Catholic archbishops of Caracas Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Roman Catholic bishops of Caracas Roman Catholic archbishops of Valencia en Venezuela Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela Venezuelan Roman Catholic archbishops Death in Caracas