Bishop of Tumaco
Monsignor Franklin Misael Betancourt was born in the municipality of Guaitarilla, Nariño, on October 30, 1967. He was ordained a priest on November 1, 1996, for the Diocese of Ipiales. His academic background includes studies in Philosophy at the *Los Sagrados Corazones* Major Seminary in Pasto, and in Theology at the same seminary and at the Pontifical Xavierian University in Bogotá, where he obtained a Bachelor's degree in Theology in 1995. Subsequently, he earned a Licentiate in Moral Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and completed a specialization in Pedagogy and Ethics at the Juan de Castellanos University in Tunja in 2013. His pastoral career is extensive and varied. He has served as Diocesan Delegate for Youth Ministry, parish priest in several parishes in Ipiales—including the iconic Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary of Las Lajas (2008–2016)—Vicar for Consecrated Life, and Diocesan Bursar. In recent years, he has dedicated himself to the formation of new priests at the *Nuestra Señora de la Paz* Binational Seminary in Tulcán, Ecuador, and, since 2020, at the *Los Sagrados Corazones de Jesús y María* Major Seminary of the Diocese of Pasto. On October 23, 2025, the Holy Father Leo XIV appointed him Bishop of Tumaco. He received episcopal ordination on November 27, 2025, at the hands of Monsignor José Saúl Grisales Grisales, Bishop of Ipiales, at the Cathedral of Saint Peter the Martyr. He took possession of his assigned see on December 11 of the same year.