Bishop of Cartagena
José Manuel Lorca Planes was born in the Murcian town of Espinardo, in the Diocese of Cartagena, on October 18, 1949. He pursued his ecclesiastical studies at the "San Fulgencio" Major Seminary in Murcia. He holds a Licentiate in Biblical Theology from the Faculty of Theology in Granada. He was ordained a priest on June 29, 1975. Lorca Planes returned as bishop to his home diocese—where he had previously exercised his priestly ministry—having begun his career as an assistant priest at the "Santiago el Mayor" parish in Totana (Murcia) from 1975 to 1980. Msgr. Lorca Planes, Bishop of Cartagena since 2009, has held various positions, including: secretary to the then-Bishop of Cartagena, Msgr. Javier Azagra Labiano; diocesan chaplain for the Junior Catholic Action Movement (1980–1985); rector of the Cartagena Major and Minor Seminaries (1984–1989); episcopal vicar for the Lorca pastoral zone and parish priest of "San Mateo" in Lorca (1989–1999); parish priest of "San Nicolás de Bari y Santa Catalina" (1999–2002); vicar general (1999–2004); and parish priest of "San Miguel Arcángel." Additionally, he taught religion in public schools; taught "Origins of Christianity" at the "San Fulgencio" Center for Theological Studies in Murcia; taught Introduction to Sacred Scripture, History of Israel, Christology, and Ecclesiology at the "San Agustín" Higher Institute of Religious Sciences (distance learning); and served as the founder and director of the Lorca School of Theology. His appointment as Bishop of Teruel and Albarracín was announced on January 15, 2004. He received episcopal ordination in Teruel on March 6, 2004. On July 18, 2009, he was appointed Bishop of Cartagena and took office on August 1 of that same year.