Cardinal Obeso Rivera of Mexico dead at 87

By Vatican News

The emeritus Archbishop was already well over 80 when Pope Francis made him a cardinal. Which means he was never eligible to vote in a papal election.

Cardinal Sergio Obeso Rivera was 87 years of age when he died on Sunday evening in his former archdiocese of Xalapa, in the Mexican state of Veracuz. He will be buried there in the Cathedral, following a funeral Mass on Tuesday.

The late cardinal studied theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, before being ordained a priest in 1954.

Back home in Mexico, he held various positions at the local seminary in Xalapa, teaching theology and eventually becoming the Rector.

He was ordained a bishop in 1971 and was appointed archbishop of Xalapa in 1979.

He served three terms as President of the Mexican Bishops’ Conference before resigning from the pastoral care of the Xalapa Archdiocese in 2007, having reached the canonical age limit of 75.

He was created a cardinal by Pope Francis in the consistory of 28 June 2018

With the death of Cardinal Obeso Rivera, the College of Cardinals now numbers 216 in total, of whom 119 are electors.