Alfonso Lopez Trujillo Cardinal Bishop of Frascati since November 17, 2001 Date of Birth: 08.11.1935 Country: Italy

1. Early Life and Education
2. Priestly Ordination and Early Ministry
3. Episcopal Ministry
4. Cardinalate and Later Years

Early Life and Education

Alfonso López Trujillo was born on November 8, 1935, in Villahermosa, Colombia. He moved to Bogotá as a young boy and attended the National University of Bogotá and the Bogotá Seminary. He completed his studies in Rome at the Pontifical International College Angelicum, where he earned a doctorate in philosophy.

Priestly Ordination and Early Ministry

López Trujillo was ordained a priest on November 13, 1960. After further studies in Rome, he returned to Bogotá and taught philosophy at the local seminary for four years. In 1968, he organized a new pastoral department for the Archdiocese of Bogotá and served as its vicar general from 1970 to 1972.

Episcopal Ministry

On February 25, 1971, López Trujillo was appointed Titular Bishop of Bosetus and Auxiliary Bishop of Bogotá. He was ordained a bishop on March 25, 1971. He was elected General Secretary of the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM) in 1972, a post he held until 1984. One of his major achievements during that period was organizing the third General Conference of Latin American Bishops in 1979, which was attended by Pope John Paul II. On June 2, 1979, he became Archbishop of Medellín.

Cardinalate and Later Years

López Trujillo was created a cardinal by Pope John Paul II on February 2, 1983, and became Cardinal-Bishop on November 17, 2001. From 1990, he served as President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, and from 1991, he was Archbishop Emeritus of Medellín. As head of the Pontifical Council for the Family, he was known for his statements that abstinence is the best way to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS and that condom use is both immoral and ineffective.

López Trujillo was hospitalized for a month and died in Rome on April 19, 2008, at the age of 72, from a respiratory infection developed as a complication of diabetes. His funeral mass was celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica on April 23, 2008. Cardinal Angelo Sodano presided over the service, while Pope Benedict XVI gave the homily and imparted the final absolution.