Pope Leo XIV appoints Diego Luis Rendón as new bishop of Jericó

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Diego Luis Rendón Urrea as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Jericó in Antioquia, Colombia, replacing Monsignor Noel Antonio Londoño Buitrago, who resigned in August 2024 upon reaching the canonical retirement age of 75 Source: elcolombianoSource: infobae.

The new bishop

Rendón Urrea was born on June 3, 1967, in Rionegro, Antioquia. He studied philosophy and theology at the Major Seminary of Santa Rosa de Osos and the Santo Tomás University in Medellín, and was ordained a priest on November 21, 2000, for the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Osos Source: elcolombiano. His academic credentials include specializations in Educational Management from the University of San Buenaventura and Pedagogy of Virtuality from the Catholic University of the North, as well as doctoral studies in Education at the National University of La Plata, Argentina Source: infobae.

• Since 2015, he served as the general rector and legal representative of the Fundación Universitaria Católica del Norte and the Cibercolegio UCN, promoting higher education and virtual formation with a Catholic focus Source: elcolombianoSource: infobae.
• Earlier pastoral roles included vicar in Amalfi, vocational promoter, delegate for missionary and social pastoral care, and chaplain of SENA in Bogotá; he also served as pastor of Nuestra Señora del Carmen in Gómez Plata and was a member of the College of Consultants and Presbyteral Council Source: elcolombianoSource: infobae.

The Diocese of Jericó

Founded in 1915, the diocese encompasses 15 municipalities, including Andes, Jardín, Támesis, and Jericó itself, and has 30 parishes Source: infobae. It is historically significant as the birthplace of Santa Laura Montoya, Colombia's first saint, as well as the beatified Juan Bautista Velásquez Peláez and Jesús Aníbal Gómez Gómez Source: infobae. Rendón Urrea's appointment ensures continuity in the diocese's missionary and educational tradition Source: infobae.