Adolfo Antonio Suárez Rivera (9 January 1927 – 22 March 2008) was a Mexican

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

in 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 ...

who also served as Bishop of

Tepic Tepic () is the capital and largest city of the western Mexico, Mexican Political divisions of Mexico, state of Nayarit, as well as the seat of the Tepic Municipality. Located in the central part of the state, it stands at an altitude of above ...

Tlalnepantla Tlalnepantla de Baz ( Otomi: ) is one of 125 municipalities of the state of Mexico, north of Mexico City. The municipal seat and largest city in the municipality is the city of Tlalnepantla. ''Tlalnepantla'' comes from the Náhuatl words ''tlall ...

and Archbishop of Monterrey. Suárez Rivera studied classical literature at the conciliar seminary of Chiapas in San Cristóbal, where he was ordained a priest in 1952, and then philosophy at the archdiocesan seminary of

Xalapa Xalapa or Jalapa (, ), officially Xalapa-Enríquez (), is the capital city of the Mexico, Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In 2020 census the city reported a population of 443,063 ...

and the Pontifical Seminary of Montezuma in

Montezuma, New Mexico Montezuma is an unincorporated community in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. It is five miles northwest of the city of Las Vegas, New Mexico, at the mouth of Gallinas Canyon. During the 2020 census, Montezuma had a population of 503 ...

, in the United States. After these studies, he completed a doctorate in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at 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 ...

in Rome. Suárez Rivera worked for about ten years as a professor of classical literature and philosophy at the diocesan seminary of San Cristóbal de las Casas, then was a department head and secretary in the Archdiocesan Curia. He advised the Christian Family Movement and helped found the ''Union for Mutual Episcopal Aid'' in the 1960s and 1970s, in addition to serving as a parish priest. In 1971, Suárez Rivera was named Bishop of

. From 1979 to 1983, he served as an adjunct member of the

Congregation for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usu ...

, and he was a delegate to the 1983 Sixth

General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops In the Catholic Church, the Synod of Bishops is an influential, global, consultative and advisory body to the pope. It is one of the mechanisms through which Catholic bishops—the most senior ordained members of the Church—communally render ...

on Reconciliation and Penance. From 8 November 1983 until 25 January 2003 he served as Archbishop of

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

. He was made a cardinal by

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 ...

in the consistory of 26 November 1994, and given the title of

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

of '' Nostra Signora di Guadalupe a Monte Mario''. Although eligible to vote in the

2005 papal conclave A papal conclave was held on 18 and 19 April 2005 to elect a new pope to succeed John Paul II, who had died on 2 April 2005. Of the 117 eligible cardinal electors, all but two attended. On the fourth ballot, the conclave elected Cardinal Josep ...

that elected

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 ...

, Suárez Rivera was one of only two cardinal electors unable to attend for medical reasons (the other being

Jaime Sin Jaime Cardinal Lachica Sin, ( zh, t=辛海梅, 辛海棉, poj=Sin Hái-mûi, Sin Hái-mî; August 31, 1928 – June 21, 2005), commonly and also formally known as Cardinal Sin, was the 30th Catholic Archbishop of Manila and the third cardina ...

of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

). The cardinal died on

Holy Saturday Holy Saturday (), also known as Great and Holy Saturday, Low Saturday, the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday, Saturday of the Glory, Easter Eve, Joyous Saturday, the Saturday of Light, Good Saturday, or Black Saturday, among other names, is t ...

, 22 March 2008, in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico.

References

External links

* 1927 births 2008 deaths Mexican cardinals 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Mexico 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Mexico People from San Cristóbal de las Casas Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Roman Catholic bishops of Tepic {{Mexico-RC-archbishop-stub