José Humberto Quintero Parra

José Humberto Quintero Parra (September 22, 1902 – July 8, 1984) was the first Venezuelan Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Caracas from 1960 to 1980, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1961.

His Eminence

José Humberto Quintero Parra
Archbishop Emeritus of Caracas
The cardinal circa 1961.
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
ArchdioceseCaracas
SeeCaracas
Appointed31 August 1960
Term ended24 May 1980
PredecessorRafael Ignacio Arias Blanco
SuccessorJosé Alí Lebrún Moratinos
Other postsCardinal-Priest of Santi Andrea e Gregorio al Monte Celio (1961–84)
Orders
Ordination22 August 1926
by Filippo Cortesi
Consecration6 December 1953
by Adeodato Giovanni Piazza
Created cardinal16 January 1961
by Pope John XXIII
RankCardinal-Priest
Personal details
Birth nameJosé Humberto Quintero Parra
Born22 September 1902
Mucuchíes, Mérida, Venezuela
Died8 July 1984(1984-07-08) (aged 81)
Caracas, Venezuela
Previous post
Alma materPontifical Gregorian University
MottoNon ministrari sed ministrare
Coat of arms
Styles of
José Quintero Parra
Reference styleHis Eminence
Spoken styleYour Eminence
Informal styleCardinal
SeeCaracas (emeritus)

Biography

José Quintero Parra was born in Mucuchíes, Mérida, to Genaro Quintero and his wife Perpetua Parra, and was later baptized on October 31, 1902. He studied at the seminary in Mérida and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (from where he obtained his doctorates in theology and canon law) before being ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Filippo Cortesi on August 22, 1926. Quintero then did pastoral work in Mérida until 1929, when he was named private secretary to the Archbishop of the same city, Acacio Chacón Guerra. Serving as Archbishop Chacón's secretary until 1934, he was also secretary of the archdiocesan curia and vicar general of Mérida from 1929 to 1953.

On September 7, 1953, Quintero was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Mérida and Titular Archbishop of Achrida by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration on the following December 6 from Adeodato Giovanni Piazza, OCD, with Archbishops Luigi Centoz and Giuseppe Misuraca serving as co-consecrators, in the chapel of the Collegio Pio Latinoamericano at Rome. Quintero was later named Archbishop of Caracas on August 31, 1960.

Pope John XXIII created him Cardinal Priest of Ss. Andrea e Gregorio al Monte Celio in the consistory of January 16, 1961. Quintero, who was the first Venezuelan member of the College of Cardinals, attended the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965, and was a cardinal elector in the 1963 papal conclave that selected Pope Paul VI. Along with Cardinal José Bueno y Monreal, he assisted Cardinal Paul Zoungrana in delivering one of the closing messages of the Council on December 8, 1965.[1]

During his tenure as Caracas' archbishop, he made an offer of mediation to Venezuela's guerrillas,[2] served as President of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, and enforced the "dignity and obligation of fatherhood".[3] Before he resigned as Archbishop on May 24, 1980, after a period of twenty-nine years, the Venezuelan primate participated in the conclaves of August and October 1978, which selected Popes John Paul I and John Paul II respectively.

Quintero died after a long illness in Caracas, at age 81. He is buried in the chapel of Our Lady of the Pillar in the metropolitan cathedral of Caracas. President Jaime Lusinchi declared an official three days of mourning following the Cardinal's death.[4]

Trivia

References
  1. Christus Rex. To Workers Archived 2007-04-03 at the Wayback Machine
  2. TIME Magazine. Man of El Cambio May 2, 1969
  3. TIME Magazine. Illegitimate Family March 8, 1963
  4. New York Times. Jose Cardinal Quintero July 10, 1984
  5. TIME Magazine. Four New Hats December 26, 1960
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Rafael Arias Blanco		 Archbishop of Caracas
1960–1980		 Succeeded by
José Lebrún Moratinos
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