During the consistory of August 27, 2022, Pope Francis conferred the cardinal’s biretta upon the Most Reverend Jorge Enrique JIMÉNEZ CARVAJAL, Archbishop emeritus of the Diocese of Cartagena, Colombia. The pope assigned the new cardinal the title of Cardinal-Priest of the Parish of Santa Dorotea, located in Rome’s Trastevere district. The parish is entrusted to the pastoral care of the Friars Minor Conventual.
The Pastor, Friar Umberto FANFARILLO, was present at the consistory ceremony, and during the new cardinal’s meeting with the friars and parishioners, Friar Umberto gave him a stole bearing the image of St. Dorotea.
The new incumbent succeeds Javier Cardinal LOZANO BARRAGAN of Mexico, who was installed on November 1, 2014 and died on April 20, 2022.
The new cardinal, aged 80, was ordained a priest in 1967. In 1992, Pope John Paul II appointed him Bishop of Zipaquirá, Colombia (1992-2004). He served as the Secretary General of the Latin American Episcopal Council (1995-1999) and subsequently as the President of the same Council (CELAM) from 1999 to 2003. For a year, he was coadjutor Archbishop of Cartagena (2004-2005) and then Metropolitan Archbishop of Cartagena for sixteen years (2005-2021).
On October 11, 2002, while serving as a pastor, Father Jorge, along with Father Desiderio ORJUELA were on their way to celebrate a function when they were abducted in the village of San Antonio de Aguilera, near the town of Pacho, Colombia. The kidnappers were identified as members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Appeals for the release of Father Jorge were made by Everth BUSTAMANTE, Mayor of Zipaquirá, General Carlos Alberto OSPINA (who offered a substantial reward for anyone with useful information) and most particularly, the Pontiff, who made an appeal the following day and during the general audience on Wednesday. Father Jorge was released a week later, on October 18, 2002, after a major military operation that led to the arrest of two guerrillas. A third guerrilla surrendered voluntarily. Two years later, those responsible were sentenced to thirty-one years in prison by the special court of the Department of Cundinamarca.
The date for the cardinal’s eventual installation at the Church of Santa Dorotea is scheduled for December 8, 2022, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
Friar Paolo FIASCONARO, Santa Dorotea Press Office
