Pope Francis mourns Venezuelan cardinal who ‘gave his life to the service of God and the Church’

Pope Francis expressed his sorrow on Friday at the death of a Venezuelan cardinal who “gave his life to the service of God and the Church.”

The pope paid tribute to Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino, the emeritus archbishop of Caracas, in a telegram issued Sept. 24, the day after the cardinal died following his admission to hospital with COVID-19.

Addressing Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo, apostolic administrator of Caracas archdiocese, he wrote: “Upon receiving the news of the death of Cardinal Jorge Liberato Urosa Savino, archbishop emeritus of Caracas, I express to your eminence my feelings of sorrow, asking you to kindly convey them also to the relatives of the deceased prelate and to all those who form part of this ecclesial community.”

“Likewise, remembering this devoted pastor who, for years and with fidelity, gave his life to the service of God and the Church, I assure my prayers for the eternal repose of his soul, so that the Lord Jesus may grant him the crown of glory that does not fade, and I impart to all the Apostolic Blessing, as a sign of Christian hope in the Risen Lord.”

Porras announced the death of the 79-year-old cardinal on Sept. 23, almost a month after Urosa was hospitalized after testing positive for the coronavirus, reported ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

“Dear Venezuelans, I have to give you the news of the death of my dear brother Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino, who, after a long illness and convalescence, has surrendered his spirit to the Lord,” Porras said in a video message on the Twitter account of Caracas archdiocese.

“I ask everyone to pray for his eternal rest that grieves the Venezuelan Church and the universal Church. Soon we will be giving details of what we will have to do from the Church of Caracas, Valencia, and all Venezuela to unite in this moment of pain and mourning.”

“Rest in peace our dear brother, Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino.”

Urosa was hospitalized on Aug. 27. The following day, the cardinal wrote a message making “a brief declaration of love for God and love for the Church, and of love for the people of Venezuela.”

In his message, Urosa said that he felt “immensely happy to have been a priest” and asked “forgiveness from God and all my brothers for the faults I may have committed, especially for the faults of omission.”

"I also express my great affection for the Venezuelan people and my absolute dedication to their freedom, to their institutions, to defending the rights of the people against the abuses committed by national governments,” he said.

“I hope that Venezuela comes out of this negative situation,” he added.

Urosa was born on Aug. 28, 1942. He was ordained a priest on Aug. 15, 1967, and incardinated in Caracas archdiocese, which covers Venezuela’s capital city.

He obtained a doctorate in dogmatic theology in 1971 at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

He was vice-rector and later rector of the San José Seminary of El Hatillo and rector of the interdiocesan seminary of Caracas, where he was a professor of philosophical anthropology.

He was also president of the Organization of Venezuelan Seminaries and vice-president of the Organization of Latin American Seminaries.

Pope John Paul II named him auxiliary bishop of Caracas on July 3, 1982, and he was ordained on Sept. 22 of that year, aged just 40 years old.