Archbishop of Mérida-Badajoz
José Rodríguez Carballo was born in Lodoselo (Ourense) on August 11, 1953. He entered the Order of Friars Minor, beginning his novitiate in 1970. He made his first vows in 1971 and his solemn profession in 1976 in Jerusalem, where he was also ordained a priest on June 29, 1977. He holds a licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and in Biblical Theology from the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem. Rodríguez Carballo taught at the Major Seminary of Vigo and the Faculty of Theology in Santiago. Within the Order, he held various positions, including novice master at the friary of San Diego de Canedo (Pontevedra); superior of the friary in Santiago de Compostela; provincial definitor; provincial secretary for formation and studies; provincial minister of the Franciscan Province of Santiago; and president of the Union of Franciscan Provincial Ministers of Europe (UFME). Additionally, he served as president of the Conference of Religious of Galicia from 1989 to 1997. José Rodríguez Carballo has also held the offices of general definitor of the Order, secretary general for Formation and Studies, and delegate of the Grand Chancellor for the Pontifical Athenaeum Antonianum (Rome). He served as general visitor for the Custody of the Holy Martyrs of Morocco, the Franciscan Province of San Salvador de Horta in Catalonia, and the houses of formation of the Province of the Assumption and the Province of Saint Francis in Poland. On June 5, 2003, he was elected Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor and was re-elected on June 4, 2009. On November 23, 2012, he was elected president of the Union of Superiors General (USG). On April 6, 2013, Pope Francis appointed Rodríguez Carballo Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life and Titular Archbishop of Belcastro. He was consecrated a bishop on May 18 by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone in the Cathedral of Santiago. He participated in the Synods of Bishops in 2005, 2008, 2010, and 2012. Appointed by Pope Benedict XVI, he took part in the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean in Aparecida, Brazil (2007). On September 14, 2023, Pope Francis appointed him Coadjutor Archbishop of Mérida-Badajoz. He took possession of the diocese at the Cathedral of Badajoz on Saturday, November 25, 2023. He has served as Archbishop of Mérida-Badajoz since June 29, 2024, following the Holy Father's acceptance of the resignation from the pastoral governance of the diocese submitted by Msgr. Celso Morga Iruzubieta.