Archbishop of Medellín
Monsignor Ricardo Antonio Tobón Restrepo was born on May 8, 1951, in Ituango, a municipality within the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Osos and the Department of Antioquia. He completed his primary education in his hometown of Ituango. He pursued his secondary education at the Santo Tomás de Aquino Conciliar Seminary in his home diocese, where he also undertook the institutional courses in Philosophy and Theology. He attended the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, earning both a Licentiate and a Doctorate in Philosophy. He was ordained a priest at the Cathedral of the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Osos (Antioquia) on November 21, 1975, and was incardinated into that same ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Throughout his priestly life, he has held the following positions: within his diocese, he served from 1975 to 1981 as Parochial Vicar of the *Señor de los Milagros* (Lord of Miracles) parish in San Pedro (Antioquia). In 1981, he was transferred to the parish of Donmatías (Antioquia) to serve in the same capacity. He was a member of the Santa Rosa de Osos Diocesan Pastoral Team (1982–1984). From there, as a student of the Pontifical Pio Latin American College, he went to the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he obtained his Doctorate from the Faculty of Philosophy (1985–1989). Upon returning to Colombia, he served as a formator and professor at the Santo Tomás de Aquino Diocesan Seminary in Santa Rosa de Osos (1989–1992). From late 1992, he carried out his ministry as a local collaborator for the Pontifical Representation in Colombia. On April 25, 2003, His Holiness John Paul II appointed him Bishop of the Diocese of Sonsón-Rionegro, and he received episcopal ordination on June 14, 2003. On February 16, 2010, His Holiness Benedict XVI appointed him Archbishop of Medellín, and he took possession of this metropolitan see on May 8, 2010. On July 5, 2017, the Plenary Assembly (CIII) of the Episcopate appointed him Vice President of the Episcopal Conference of Colombia (CEC) for the 2017–2020 triennium. He was born on May 8, 1951, and baptized two days later in Ituango, in the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Osos. He is the eldest of twelve children born to Martín Tobón Piedrahíta and Margarita Restrepo Correa. He completed his primary education in his hometown. He pursued his secondary education and the institutional cycles of philosophy and theology at the Santo Tomás de Aquino Seminary in his home diocese. Later, he took courses in catechesis and, as a student at the Pontifical Latin American College (Colegio Pío Latinoamericano), attended the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he earned a licentiate and a doctorate in Philosophy. He was ordained a deacon on September 7, 1975, and a priest on November 21, 1975, at the Cathedral of Santa Rosa de Osos, the ecclesiastical jurisdiction in which he was incardinated. He began his priestly life by serving in the following roles: Parochial Vicar of the Señor de los Milagros Parish in San Pedro (Antioquia) from December 30, 1975, to February 2, 1981; Parochial Vicar of the Nuestra Señora del Rosario Parish in Donmatías (Antioquia) from February 25, 1981, to February 16, 1982; and member of the Pastoral Team in Santa Rosa de Osos and Diocesan Director of Catechesis from March 1, 1982, to August 16, 1984. Following his studies in Rome (September 1984 to March 1989), he joined the formation team at the Santo Tomás de Aquino Seminary in Santa Rosa de Osos, serving as a professor and spiritual director from April 10, 1989, to November 30, 1992. From 1992 until his episcopal ordination, he served as Local Secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature in Bogotá. His priestly ministry also led him to serve as a member of his diocese's Presbyteral Council and as a professor at ITEPAL, CESA, and CRC in Bogotá. ...preacher of Spiritual Exercises for laypeople, religious sisters, and priests; Chaplain of “Mi Casa,” a residence for the elderly run by the Little Sisters of the Poor in Bogotá. On April 25, 2003, Pope John Paul II appointed him Bishop of the Diocese of Sonsón-Rionegro; he received episcopal ordination on June 14 of that same year at the Cathedral of Santa Rosa de Osos and, on the following July 5, took possession of the Diocese of Sonsón-Rionegro. On February 16, 2010, His Holiness Benedict XVI appointed him Archbishop of Medellín. He took possession of the metropolitan see on May 8, 2010. He received the Archiepiscopal Pallium on June 29, 2010. He currently serves the Church in Colombia as Vice President of the Episcopal Conference. A party-per-pale shield. The first field is gules (red), featuring a golden ear of wheat. The second is azure (blue), with a silver rose in the lower canton. It bears a sable (black) episcopal cross as a crest. The motto, inscribed on a silver ribbon, reads: “Thy Kingdom Come.” The ear of wheat represents the Risen Christ—the grain of wheat that, after falling to the ground, rose as the firstfruits of the new humanity; a mystery sacramentally celebrated in the Eucharist (Jn 12:24; Lk 22:19). The ear of wheat is also a sign of the spiritual journey of the disciple of Jesus who, like his Master, finds life by losing it (Mt 16:24-25; Lk 17:33; Jn 12:25). Being both seed and fruit, the ear of wheat may also be viewed as an image of the new creation—which is being sown and harvested—and as an emblem of the toil and hope with which one works for the coming of the Kingdom of God (Mt 11:12; Mk 4:26-27). Through the rose—which alludes to the diocese of origin and incardination of Monsignor Ricardo Tobón Restrepo—the coat of arms incorporates a symbol of the Church, called to grow like a rosebush planted by the water (Sirach 39:13). The rose is also intended as a filial remembrance of the Blessed Virgin Mary—Mystical Rose, prototype, and Mother of the Church. The colors red and blue—alluding respectively to the Eucharist and Baptism, to pastoral charity and the vast horizon in which the Church’s mission unfolds—also pay tribute to the Diocese of Sonsón-Rionegro, as they are the colors of its coat of arms. The motto conveys that the episcopal ministry—in teaching, sanctifying, and shepherding—seeks only to be an echo of that ardent plea and compelling commitment which encapsulate the Lord’s Prayer and the entire Gospel: "Thy Kingdom come" (Mt 6:10).