Bishop of Orense
José Leonardo Lemos Montanet was born on May 31, 1953, in Barallobre (La Coruña, Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela) and completed his ecclesiastical studies at the minor and major seminaries of Santiago de Compostela. Ordained a priest on May 19, 1979, he obtained a Licentiate in Philosophy from the Pontifical Gregorian University (1982–1984) and continued his studies in Rome in the fields of archival science (1984) and librarianship (1985). He earned a Doctorate in Philosophy from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome (1987). Within the diocese, he served as a formator at the minor seminary in Belvís (1978–1979) and the major seminary in Santiago de Compostela (1988–2003); as a professor at the *Instituto Teologico Compostelano* (since 1985); as Director of the Theological Studies Library at the *Instituto Teologico Compostelano* (since 1992); as a Canon (since 2003) and Chapter Secretary (since 2005); as Director of the *Instituto Compostelano Superior de Ciencias Religiosas*; and as a pastoral collaborator at the Parish of San Fernando in Santiago de Compostela.