Pope Francis appoints new Bishop of San Felipe in Venezuela

Pope Francis has named Father Rubén Delgado as the new Bishop of the Diocese of San Felipe, located in north-central Venezuela, this November 29.

Father Delgado currently serves as rector of the Major Seminary of Trujillo. In addition, he is Vicar General of the Diocese of Trujillo, member of the Presbyteral Council, the College of Consultants and the Council for Economic Affairs.

According to the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV) The new bishop was born on March 16, 1968. He was ordained a priest on April 23, 1994, after completing his Theology studies at the Pontifical Alphonsian Academy in Rome. In 2002, he went to Rome to study Canon Law at the Pontifical Lateran University, from which he graduated in 2004.

Throughout his pastoral mission, he has held various important positions in the Venezuelan Church. He was parish priest of San José de Tostós and Santa Ana, both located in the Andean state of Trujillo, between 1995 and 1998. In addition, he was a professor at the Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Mérida (1998-2002), and vice-rector between 2004 and 2005. .

Father Delgado is currently vicar general of the Nuestra Señora de Chiquinquirá parish, in Trujillo. His appointment ends the period of vacant seat of the Diocese of San Felipe, established since October 31, 2023, when Mons. Víctor Hugo Basabe – the last holder of this ecclesiastical jurisdiction – was appointed by the Pope as Archbishop of Coro.