Roberto González Nieves

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For the Mexican race car driver, see Roberto Gonzalez.

Roberto Octavio González Nieves (born June 2, 1950) is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Puerto Rico and the current Archbishop of San Juan. Widely considered a moderate, González Nieves is viewed as a "rising star" in the Latin-American church. As he is the head of an important archdiocese, there is a good chance that, like his predecessor, he will be proclaimed a cardinal in the next consistory.

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[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life and education

Roberto Octavio González was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on June 2, 1950. He received his elementary education at Academia Santa Monica in Santurce, Puerto Rico, a suburb of San Juan. He attended St. Joseph Seraphic Seminary in Callicoon, New York. He also studied and graduated from Siena College in Loudonville, New York. Accepted as an affiliate of the Franciscan Order at Christ House in Lafayette, New Jersey, in 1970, he professed first vows in 1972 at St. Francis Friary in Brookline, Massachusetts. González earned a Master's degree in Sacred Theology at the Washington Theological Coalition (now Washington Theological Union) in Silver Spring, Maryland. He was ordained on May 8, 1977. He has received an honorary doctorate from the Graduate Theological Foundation in South Bend, IN.

[edit] Priesthood

On May 8, 1977, González Nieves became a priest, and, in 1982, he began to serve at St. Pius V in the Bronx, New York, before going to Holy Cross Church, also in the Bronx. In 1986, he was appointed pastor of that church. He remained there until 1988, when he was sent to Boston to work as the city's auxiliary bishop under Cardinal Archbishop Bernard Francis Law. In Boston, Bishop González Nieves was popular in the Hispanic community.

In 1995, González Nieves was relocated to Texas, where he served as coadjustor bishop of Corpus Christi until 1997, when he succeeded as bishop of the diocese. As in Boston, González Nieves was very popular with the Hispanic community living in Corpus Christi.

[edit] Archbishop of San Juan

Styles of
Roberto González Nieves
Reference style The Most Reverend
Spoken style Your Excellency
Religious style Monsignor
Posthumous style not applicable


On March 26, 1999, González Nieves was appointed archbishop of San Juan by Pope John Paul II. He was installed as archbishop on May 8 in a ceremony that was attended by many of his friends from Corpus Christi, New York and Boston. Other people who attended included the then mayor of San Juan and future Governor of Puerto Rico Sila Calderón, former Governor Carlos Romero Barceló, as well as other Puerto Rican political figures.

The ceremony also marked the retirement of cardinal Luis Aponte Martínez, who had been the archbishop of San Juan since 1965. Aponte Martínez observed that the ceremony marked the first time in history that a Puerto Rican archbishop had handed the see over to another Puerto Rican archbishop.

Almost immediately, González Nieves raised his profile across the island. As archbishop, he articulated outspoken and often controversial views, particularly in defence the Navy-Vieques protests and in his denunciation of homosexuality, among other things. His actions in the Vieques Protests gained international notoriety, and he was viewed as a strong Latin-American leader of the Catholic Church.

He has proclaimed his pride in being Puerto Rican, asked the Government to work hard to preserve the national identity of Puerto Ricans, and criticized political corruption in Puerto Rico.

During the spring of 2006, along with several Protestant leaders, he was instrumental in persuading Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vila, Senate President Kenneth McClintock, and House Speaker José Aponte Hernández to resolve Puerto Rico's fiscal crisis, which had sparked a two-week-long government shutdown.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Luis Cardinal Aponte Martínez		 Archbishop of San Juan
1999-		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Languages