Mario Casariego y Acevedo
Encyclopedia
Mario Casariego y Acevedo, CRS
(February 13, 1909—June 15, 1983) was a Spanish
Cardinal
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He served as Archbishop of Guatemala City
in Guatemala
from 1964 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate
in 1969.
to Mario and Ágata (née Acevedo) Casariego. He entered the Clerics Regular of Somasca
, more commonly known as the Somascan Fathers, in 1924, and made his profession
on October 3, 1930. Casariego studied at the Somascan houses of studies in Bergamo
and Genoa
, and at the Somascan theological
seminary
in San Salvador
.
He was ordained
to the priesthood
on July 19, 1936, and then did pastoral
work at La Ceiba Institute in San Salvador until 1948, whence he became its rector
. From 1954 to 1957, Casariego served as a counselor to his religious order
. He was also its provincial superior
of Central America
from 1957 to 1958.
On November 15, 1958, Casariego was appointed Auxiliary Bishop
of Guatemala City
and Titular Bishop
of Pudentiana by Pope Pius XII
. He received his episcopal consecration
on the following December 27 from Pope John himself, with Bishops Girolamo Bortignon
, OFM Cap
, and Gioacchino Muccin
serving as co-consecrators
, in St. Peter's Basilica
. Casariego later attended the Second Vatican Council
from 1962 to 1965, during which he was promoted to Coadjutor Archbishop
of Guatemala City and Titular Archbishop of Perge on September 22, 1963. He succeeded the late Mariano Rossell y Arellano as Archbishop of Guatemala City
on December 12, 1964. Casariego was kidnapped
for several days by a terrorist
group (right extremists from a death squad
who wanted to blame Guatemalan leftist guerrilla) in March 1968.
Pope Paul VI
created him Cardinal Priest
of S. Maria in Aquiro in the consistory
of April 28, 1969; Casariego was the first cardinal
from Guatemala
. He was one of the cardinal electors
who participated in the conclaves
of August and October 1978, which selected Popes John Paul I
and John Paul II
respectively.
The Cardinal was an ardent supporter of Guatemala's regime
, so much so that his automobile
was accompanied by a radio patrol and two armed motorcycle
guards. In response to the murder of many politically
-active missionaries
, Casariego said he knew of no murdered clergy in his country, where most accounts claimed there had been at least ten. Moreover, he also stated, "If you mix in politics, you get what you deserve."
Cardinal Casariego died in Guatemala City, at the age of 74. He is buried in the metropolitan
cathedral
of the same.
Somaschi Fathers
The Somascan Fathers are a charitable religious congregation of priests and brothers, founded in Italy in the 16th century by Saint Jerome Emiliani and named after the mother-house at Somasca. They are often called Somascans for short. Their formal name is Ordo Clericorum Regularium a Somascha,...
(February 13, 1909—June 15, 1983) was a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He served as Archbishop of Guatemala City
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Guatemala
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Guatemala is a metropolitan diocese, responsible for the suffragan Dioceses of Escuintla, Jalapa, Santa Rosa de Lima, Verapaz, Cobán and Zacapa y Santo Cristo de Esquipulas. It was elevated on 16 December 1743...
in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
from 1964 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
in 1969.
Biography
Mario Casariego y Acevedo was born in CastropolCastropol
-Parishes:It has nine parishes :* Balmonte* Barres* Castropol* Figueras* Moldes* Piñera* Presno* Seares* Tol...
to Mario and Ágata (née Acevedo) Casariego. He entered the Clerics Regular of Somasca
Somaschi Fathers
The Somascan Fathers are a charitable religious congregation of priests and brothers, founded in Italy in the 16th century by Saint Jerome Emiliani and named after the mother-house at Somasca. They are often called Somascans for short. Their formal name is Ordo Clericorum Regularium a Somascha,...
, more commonly known as the Somascan Fathers, in 1924, and made his profession
Profession (religious)
The term religious profession is defined in the 1983 Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church in relation to members of religious institutes as follows:By religious profession members make a public vow to observe the three evangelical counsels...
on October 3, 1930. Casariego studied at the Somascan houses of studies in Bergamo
Bergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
and Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, and at the Somascan theological
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
in San Salvador
San Salvador
The city of San Salvador the capital and largest city of El Salvador, which has been designated a Gamma World City. Its complete name is La Ciudad de Gran San Salvador...
.
He was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
to the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
on July 19, 1936, and then did pastoral
Parish (Catholic Church)
In the Roman Catholic Church, a parish is the lowest ecclesiastical geographical subdivision: from ecclesiastical province to diocese to deanery to parish.-Requirements:A parish needs two things under common law to become a parish...
work at La Ceiba Institute in San Salvador until 1948, whence he became its rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
. From 1954 to 1957, Casariego served as a counselor to his religious order
Roman Catholic religious order
Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular ; monastics ; mendicants Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular (canons and canonesses regular...
. He was also its provincial superior
Provincial superior
A Provincial Superior is a major superior of a religious order acting under the order's Superior General and exercising a general supervision over all the members of that order in a territorial division of the order called a province--similar to but not to be confused with an ecclesiastical...
of Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
from 1957 to 1958.
On November 15, 1958, Casariego was appointed Auxiliary Bishop
Auxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
of Guatemala City
Guatemala City
Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...
and Titular Bishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Pudentiana by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
. He received his episcopal consecration
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on the following December 27 from Pope John himself, with Bishops Girolamo Bortignon
Girolamo Bortignon
Girolamo Bartolomeo Bortignon, OFM Cap was an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as Bishop of Padua from 1949 to 1982....
, OFM Cap
Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...
, and Gioacchino Muccin
Gioacchino Muccin
Gioacchino Muccin was an Italian Roman Catholic clergyman who became the bishop of the Diocese of Belluno-Feltre.-Early life:...
serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
, in St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
. Casariego later attended the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
from 1962 to 1965, during which he was promoted to Coadjutor Archbishop
Coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...
of Guatemala City and Titular Archbishop of Perge on September 22, 1963. He succeeded the late Mariano Rossell y Arellano as Archbishop of Guatemala City
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Guatemala
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Guatemala is a metropolitan diocese, responsible for the suffragan Dioceses of Escuintla, Jalapa, Santa Rosa de Lima, Verapaz, Cobán and Zacapa y Santo Cristo de Esquipulas. It was elevated on 16 December 1743...
on December 12, 1964. Casariego was kidnapped
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
for several days by a terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
group (right extremists from a death squad
Guatemalan Civil War
The Guatemalan Civil War ran from 1960-1996. The thirty-six-year civil war began as a grassroots, popular response to the rightist and military usurpation of civil government , and the President's disrespect for the human and civil rights of the majority of the population...
who wanted to blame Guatemalan leftist guerrilla) in March 1968.
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
created him Cardinal Priest
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
of S. Maria in Aquiro in the consistory
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
of April 28, 1969; Casariego was the first cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
from Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
. He was one of the cardinal electors
Cardinal electors in Papal conclaves, August and October 1978
The following were the cardinal electors in the papal conclaves of August and October 1978. Arranged by region , and within each alphabetically .Because there was such a brief period between the two conclaves, the lists of electors...
who participated in the conclaves
Papal conclave
A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...
of August and October 1978, which selected Popes John Paul I
Pope John Paul I
John Paul I , born Albino Luciani, , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and as Sovereign of Vatican City from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent Year of Three Popes...
and John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
respectively.
The Cardinal was an ardent supporter of Guatemala's regime
Politics of Guatemala
Politics of Guatemala takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Guatemala is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both...
, so much so that his automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
was accompanied by a radio patrol and two armed motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
guards. In response to the murder of many politically
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
-active missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
, Casariego said he knew of no murdered clergy in his country, where most accounts claimed there had been at least ten. Moreover, he also stated, "If you mix in politics, you get what you deserve."
Cardinal Casariego died in Guatemala City, at the age of 74. He is buried in the metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
of the same.