Roberto González Nieves

The Most Reverend
Roberto González Nieves, O.F.M.
Archbishop of San Juan
See San Juan
Installed May 8, 1999
Term ended current
Predecessor Luis Aponte Martínez
Other posts Auxiliary Bishop of Boston
Bishop of Corpus Christi
Orders
Ordination May 8, 1977
Consecration October 3, 1988
Personal details
Born June 2, 1950
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Denomination Roman Catholic
Alma mater Siena College
Washington Theological Union
Coat of arms {{{coat_of_arms_alt}}}

Roberto Octavio González Nieves, O.F.M., (born June 2, 1950) is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Puerto Rico and the current Archbishop of San Juan.

Biography

Early life and education

González was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on June 2, 1950.[1]He received his elementary education at Academia Santa Monica in Santurce, a district of San Juan. For his secondary education, he attended St. Joseph Seraphic Minor Seminary in Callicoon, New York. He then studied at and graduated from Siena College in Loudonville, New York. Formally accepted as a candidate for the Franciscan Order at Christ House in Lafayette, New Jersey, in 1970, the following year he entered the novitiate of the Order at St. Francis Friary in Brookline, Massachusetts, where he professed his first vows in 1972. [2] González earned the degree of Master of Sacred Theology at the Washington Theological Coalition (now Washington Theological Union) in Silver Spring, Maryland. He also holds a doctorate in Sociology from Fordham University. He authored The Hispanic Catholic in the United States: a Socio-Cultural and Religious Profile. He has received an honorary doctorate from the Graduate Theological Foundation in South Bend, Indiana.

Priesthood

On May 8, 1977, González became a priest, and, in 1982, he began to serve at St. Pius V Parish in the South Bronx, before going to Holy Cross Church, also in the Bronx. In 1986, he was appointed pastor of that parish. He remained there until 1988, when he was appointed by the Holy See as an auxiliary bishop of Boston to work under Cardinal Bernard Francis Law. González became popular with the Hispanic community of the region.

In 1995, González was assigned to Texas, where he appointed as coadjutor bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Corpus Christi, in which post he worked 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.

Archbishop of San Juan

Styles of
Roberto González Nieves
Reference style The Most Reverend
Spoken style Your Excellency
Religious style Archbishop

On March 26, 1999, González Nieves was appointed archbishop of San Juan by Pope John Paul II.[3] 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.[4] 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 has articulated outspoken and often controversial views, particularly in defense of the Navy-Vieques protests and in his denunciation of homosexuality, among other things.[5] His actions in the Vieques Protests have gained international notoriety, and he has been 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.[6]

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.[7]

In 2009, there was speculation that Pope Benedict XVI might name Nieves as the Archbishop of New York to replace Cardinal Edward Egan.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Roberto González Nieves". Evi. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  2. ↑ Cheney, David. "Archbishop Roberto Octavio González Nieves, O.F.M.". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  3. ↑ "With His People". Catholic New York. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  4. ↑ "Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico". GCatholic. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  5. ↑ Vidal, Jose. "A Government Cannot Oblige Religions to Go Against Their Convictions (Part 1)". Zenit. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  6. ↑ Martin, Michelle. "Archbishop visits to cement bonds". Catholic New World. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  7. ↑ "Archbishop Becomes Referee". HNP Today. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  8. ↑ Pentin, Edward. "Pope to Announce New Archbishop of New York". Newsmax. Retrieved 24 March 2013.

External links

Episcopal succession

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Luis Aponte Martínez		 Archbishop of San Juan
1999-Present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
René Henry Gracida		 Bishop of Corpus Christi
1997-1999 		Succeeded by
Edmond Carmody
Preceded by
–		 Coadjutor Bishop of Corpus Christi
1995-1997 		Succeeded by
–
Preceded by
–		 Auxiliary Bishop of Boston
1988-1995 		Succeeded by
–