José de Jesús Horacio Pimiento Rodríguez (; 18 February 1919 – 3 September 2019) was a Colombian

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

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 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

who served as Bishop of Montería from 1959 to 1964, Bishop of Garzón-Neiva from 1964 to 1975, and finally Archbishop of Manizales from 1975 to 1996. He was created a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

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 ...

in 2015.

Life and career

Pimiento Rodríguez was born in Zapatoca to Agustín Pimiento Lizarazo and Salomé Rodríguez Castillo. He was baptized on 4 March 1919.José de Jesús Horacio Pimiento's Baptismal Register
/ref> He was ordained a priest on 14 December 1941, fulfilling his dream despite his family's economic hardship. Pimiento served as coadjutor vicar in parishes in

Mogotes Mogotes () is a town and municipality in the Santander Department, in northeastern Colombia. References {{Santander-geo-stub Municipalities of Santander Department ...

, as well as in the cathedrals of San Gil and Vélez. He was appointed an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Pasto, as well as titular bishop of Apollonis, by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

on 14 June 1955, and consecrated on 28 August 1955. On 30 December 1959,

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 28 Oc ...

appointed Pimiento bishop of the Diocese of Monteria and later by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo 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, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

as bishop of the Diocese of Garzón-Neiva on 29 February 1964. He participated in the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

from 1962 to 1965, and served as President of the

Episcopal Conference of Colombia The Episcopal Conference of Colombia is an administrative institution and permanence of the Catholic Church, composed of all the bishops of the dioceses of Colombia in a college, in communion with the Roman Pontiff and under his authority to ex ...

from 1972 to 1978. His final appointment was on 22 May 1975, as Archbishop of Manizales, where he emphasised the implementation of Council decrees, such as in the

pastoral care Pastoral care is an ancient model of emotional, social and spiritual support that can be found in all cultures and traditions. The term is considered inclusive of distinctly non-religious forms of support, as well as support for people from re ...

of family and youth, as well as updating the process of priestly formation in the archdiocese, including by restructuring the

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic priests. They are generally Catholic institutions, and de ...

to become the archdiocesan

major seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

. Pimiento also oversaw the restoration of the cathedral of Manizales's bell towers, which were damaged in an earthquake in 1979. After the

Nevado del Ruiz The Nevado del Ruiz (), also known as La Mesa de Herveo ( en, Mesa of Herveo, the name of the nearby town) is a volcano on the border of the departments of Caldas and Tolima in Colombia, about west of the capital city Bogotá. It is a stratov ...

volcano erupted in 1985, he helped shelter hundreds of people fleeing other cities in the region. He retired on 15 October 1996 and later resumed work as a parish priest.

Cardinal

On 4 January 2015,

announced that he would make him a

on 14 February of the same year, four days short of his 96th birthday. Pimiento was described by those who knew him as "imbued with the spirit of the

". He did not travel to 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 ...

due to his advanced age; arrangements were made for him to receive his

biretta The biretta ( la, biretum, birretum) is a square cap with three or four peaks or horns, sometimes surmounted by a tuft. Traditionally the three-peaked biretta is worn by Catholic clergy and some Anglican and Lutheran clergy. A four-peaked bir ...

and ring from fellow Colombian cardinal Rubén Salazar Gómez in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

. He was assigned the

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary des ...

of San Giovanni Crisostomo a Monte Sacro Alto.

Death

Pimiento Rodríguez died from heart failure during the afternoon on 3 September 2019 at a retreat house in Floridablanca, near

Bucaramanga Bucaramanga () is the capital and largest city of the department of Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth-largest economy by GDP in Colombia, has the lowest unemployment rate and has the ninth-largest population in the country, with 6 ...

. He had recently been hospitalized after a fall and released. At the time of his death he had been the oldest 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 ...

since the death of

Loris Francesco Capovilla Loris Francesco Capovilla (14 October 1915 – 26 May 2016) was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate and a cardinal. At his death, he was the oldest living Roman Catholic bishop from Italy and the fourth oldest in the world. At the time of his ele ...

in 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pimiento Rodriguez, Jose De Jesus 1919 births 2019 deaths Colombian centenarians Men centenarians Participants in the Second Vatican Council 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Colombia People from Zapatoca Colombian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Francis Major Seminary of Bogotá alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Montería Roman Catholic bishops of Garzón Roman Catholic archbishops of Manizales