The Holy See reported this May 15 that Pope Francis has appointed Fr. Dimas Antonio Acuña Jiménez as Bishop of the Diocese of El Banco, and Fr. Edgar Jesús Mejía Orozco as Auxiliary Bishop of Barranquilla.
The Diocese of El Banco is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction created in 2006 by Benedict XVI and covers the southern part of the department of Magdalena.
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The Episcopal Conference of Colombia reported that since the death of the previous bishop, Mons. Luis Gabriel Ramírez Díaz, the diocese has been directed since January 2023 by Mons. José Mario Bacci Trespalacios, Bishop of Santa Marta, as apostolic administrator.
Now the position of bishop will be assumed by Father Dimas Acuña, who will soon receive episcopal ordination.
The bishop-elect was born on January 25, 1972 in the department of Atlántico. He studied philosophy and theology at the Juan XXIII Major Seminary in Barranquilla and has a degree in Theology from the Javeriana University. He was ordained a priest on August 22, 1998.
The new Bishop of El Banco has specialized in Contemporary Philosophy at the Universidad del Norte of Barranquilla and studied Biblical Theology at the Pontifical University of Santo Tomás de Aquino, in Rome.
Father Dimas Acuña currently serves as delegate of the University Pastoral and the Pastoral of Artists of the Archdiocese of Barranquilla. In addition, he has been rector and trainer of the John XXIII Major Seminary.
A new auxiliary bishop for Barranquilla
In the case of Father Edgar Mejía Orozco, the Episcopate reported that “he will be the third auxiliary bishop that the Archdiocese of Barranquilla will have,” an ecclesiastical jurisdiction created in 1932 by Pius XI.
The priest was born in Barranquilla on January 13, 1976. He studied philosophy and theology at the Juan XXIII Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Barranquilla. He was ordained a priest on November 17, 2007.
He obtained a degree in Philosophy and Religious Sciences in 2015 in Colombia, and a specialization in Dogmatic Theology in Rome during 2014.
Until now, Father Mejía Orozco had been serving as Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Barranquilla.
Eduardo Berdejo
Professional in Social Communication from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Peru, I have more than 20 years of experience in Catholic digital journalism. As part of ACI Prensa I have been sent to cover Pope Francis’ trips to Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Peru, in addition to the Synodality Synod in the Vatican in 2023.