Heriberto Andrés Bodeant Fernández (born 15 June 1955) is a

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

cleric.

Biography

Bodeant was born in

Young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one's age is low, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an America ...

, where he attended school and high school. After studying education in

Paysandú Paysandú () is the capital and most populous city of the Paysandú Department in western Uruguay. Located on the banks of the Uruguay River, it is the country's List of cities in Uruguay, fourth-largest city and a vital cultural and economic hu ...

, he worked in public education from 1975 to 1979, in his hometown. In 1980 he entered the inter-diocesan seminary "Christ the King" in

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Uruguay. He studied philosophy and theology at the Theological Institute of Uruguay and obtained his degree in theology. He was ordained a priest on September 27, 1986, at the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''parroquia Sagrado Corazón de Jesús'') by the Coadjutor Bishop of Salto, Carlos Alberto Nicolini. He served as curate of the parish of ''Nuestra Señora del Pilar'' (Our Lady of the Pillar) in

Fray Bentos Fray Bentos () is the capital city of the Río Negro Department, in south-western Uruguay, at the Argentina-Uruguay border, near the Argentine city of Gualeguaychú. Its port on the Uruguay River is one of the nation's most important harbours. T ...

between 1986 and 1988. After his appointment as diocesan advisor on Youth Ministry in 1988, he lived in Paysandú in the parish of ''San José Obrero'' (Saint Joseph the Worker). From 1990 to 1992 he studied at the theology faculty of the Catholic Institute in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, France, from where he obtained a further degree in theology. On his return to Uruguay he taught at the Theological Institute of Uruguay and at the Catholic University of Paysandú. In 1993 he was made parish priest of ''Sagrado Corazón de Jesús'' in Paysandú. On 28 June 2003 he was appointed

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 an ...

of Ampora and

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of Salto. His was consecrated as bishop in Salto Cathedral on 27 September of that year by the Bishop of Salto, Daniel Gil Zorrilla, with the Bishop

Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

of Salto, Marcelo Mendiharat, and the President of the Episcopal Conference of Uruguay,

Carlos Collazzi Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhe ...

, Bishop of Mercedes, attending as co-consecrators. He was appointed Bishop of Melo on 13 June 2009, due to the illness of the ordinary Luis del Castillo. He assumed pastoral leadership of the diocese on 18 July of that year. In the Episcopal Conference of Uruguay he has served as president for two terms (2004-2009) of the National Commission for Youth Ministry and the Department for Vocations and Ministry. In 2009 he was elected as General Secretary of the Conference for the period 2010-2012, and was reelected in 2012 for the period 2013-2016. In this capacity he participated in the 33rd General Assembly of the

Latin American Episcopal Conference The Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (; ), better known as CELAM, is a council of the Catholic bishops in Latin America, created in 1955 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is based in Bogotá, Colombia. Early history From July 25 to A ...

(Spanish: ''Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano'', better known as ''CELAM''), the first to take place in

, in May 2011. He was appointed and installed as Bishop of Canelones in 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bodeant, Heriberto 1955 births People from Río Negro Department Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Uruguay Living people Uruguayan Roman Catholic bishops Roman Catholic bishops of Canelones Roman Catholic bishops of Melo Roman Catholic bishops of Salto