Adalberto Almeida y Merino ( Bachíniva, June 6, 1916 – Chihuahua, June 21, 2008) was a Mexican prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Tulancingo, 1956–1962; Bishop of Zacatecas, 1962–1969 and Archbishop of Chihuahua, 1969–1991.

Early life

He was born on June 6, 1916, in the village of Bachíniva, Chihuahua, the son of Luis Almeida Alderete and María Merino Sáenz. He received his early schooling in his home village before entering the Conciliar Seminary of Chihuahua in 1930, motivated by his parish priest, Vicente Hurtado Saldaña, who had asked for his admittance to the then Bishop of Chihuahua Antonio Guízar y Valencia.

Priesthood

He attended several seminaries: Chihuahua,

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. He also attended the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

where he graduated in Philosophy, Dogmatic Theology and Canon Law. He was ordained on April 23, 1943, at the Church of the Gesu in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

by Luigi Traglia. In 1946 he returned to Chihuahua where he taught at the Conciliar Seminary.

Episcopate

On May 28, 1956, Almeida was appointed by Pope

Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

Bishop of Tulancingo, succeeding

Miguel Darío Miranda y Gómez Miguel Darío Miranda y Gómez (December 19, 1895 – March 15, 1986) was a Mexican Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Mexico City from 1956 to 1977, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1969. Biography Migue ...

(who in turn was appointed Archbishop of Mexico), and taking charge of one of the poorest

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

s in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

at that time. He was consecrated bishop on August 14, 1956, by Guízar of Chihuahua, who had earlier been responsible for his admittance to the seminary. Pope

John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

appointed him in 1962, just before convening 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 ...

, as the ninth Bishop of Zacatecas. During his bishopric he attended all four sessions of the

, and celebrated the centennial of the Diocese. On August 24, 1969, Pope Paul VI appointed him to succeed Guizar as second Archbishop of Chihuahua. Through his adaptation of the Social Christian Doctrine as elaborated by the

, he actively evangelized the less fortunate members of society, and established the permanent

Diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Catholi ...

in the archdiocese. He is also noted as having increased substantially priestly

vocations A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. Though now often used in non-religious contexts, the meanings of the term originated in Christianity. A calling, in the reli ...

, the establishment of new religious orders, and the founding of new parishes within Chihuahua. He resigned in 1991, becoming Archbishop Emeritus on June 24 during the celebrations of the centennial of the erection of the Diocese.

Later years

Almeida remained a beloved figure and active in the archdiocese after his retirement, celebrating daily

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

and ministering to the faithful until his death at age 92 on June 21, 2008. He is 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 Cathedral of Chihuahua.

External links

Remembrances of Mons. Almeida (in Spanish)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Almeida Y Merino, Adalberto People from Chihuahua (state) 1916 births 2008 deaths Participants in the Second Vatican Council 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Mexico Mexican Servants of God Roman Catholic archbishops of Tulancingo Mexican Roman Catholic archbishops