Mexico: Pope Francis appoints new archbishop for the Archdiocese of León

Pope Francis today appointed Bishop Jaime Calderón Calderón, 58, as Archbishop of León, in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. Until today, the prelate served as Bishop of Tapachula, south of the state of Chiapas, on the border with Guatemala.

Ad he did itto the Press Office of the Holy See this July 4, and was disseminated by the Apostolic Nunciature through the General Secretariat of the Conference of the Mexican Episcopate.

Mons. Calderón will assume his new role at a critical moment for the state of Guanajuato, which is going through one of the most violent periods in its history.

Since Andrés Manuel López Obrador assumed the presidency, on December 1, 2018, 23,048 homicides have been recorded until July 4 of this year.OK to the MX report: The War in Numbers, prepared by the agency T-ResearchMX.

The Holy Father also accepted the resignation from the pastoral government of the Archdiocese of León, presented by Bishop Alfonso Cortés Contreras, who will turn 77 this month.

Who is Bishop Jaime Calderón Calderón?

Born on May 1, 1966 in Churintzio, in the Diocese of Zamora, Michoacán, Mons. Calderón entered the diocesan minor seminary at the age of 11. There he completed his initial training before moving on to the Major Seminary of the Diocese of Zamora to study Philosophy and Theology.

In 1987, he was sent to Mexico City to complete the Theological Baccalaureate at the Pontifical University of Mexico. He received priestly ordination in 1991 and, two years later, he returned to the same study center to obtain a degree in Philosophy.

He spent three years in Rome (Italy) to obtain his doctorate in Philosophy from the Pontifical Gregorian University.

Mons. Calderón served as a formator in both the minor and major seminaries of the Diocese of Zamora. Furthermore, at the major seminary he was vice-rector and, later, rector for two years. Likewise, he presided over the Mexican Seminar Organization (OSMEX).

Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of Zamora on October 5, 2012. Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Tapachula in 2018.

In the Conference of the Mexican Episcopate, Monsignor Calderón has been responsible for the Episcopal Dimension of Seminars (2012-2015) and president of the Episcopal Commission on Vocations and Ministries (2016-2018).

At the international level, he was a member of the Knowledge Management Center of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) from 2021 to 2023, and participated in the Youth Synod in 2018. He is currently one of the synod fathers participating in the Synod of Synodality, which had its first part in October 2023 and will conclude in October of this year.