Bishop of Girardota
Monsignor Juan Manuel Toro Vallejo was born on May 9, 1959, in Medellín. He studied Philosophy and Theology at the *Cristo Sacerdote* National Seminary in La Ceja and at Santo Tomás University in Bogotá. He was ordained a priest on November 3, 1995, for the Diocese of Sonsón-Rionegro. Since then, he has held various positions and pursued further studies, serving as a formator at the *San Luis Beltrán* Colombian Inter-missionary Seminary in Bogotá (1996–1997) and the *Cristo Sacerdote* Seminary in Yarumal (1998–1999); as Rector of the Monsignor Alfonso Uribe Jaramillo School in Rionegro (1998–2000); and as a formator at the *San Pedro Apóstol* Archdiocesan Seminary in Cali (2001–2003). Subsequently, he undertook studies in spirituality with the Sulpician Fathers in Montreal, Canada (2003–2004). Upon returning to Colombia, he served as a formator and later as Rector of the Sonsón-Rionegro Diocesan Seminary (2005–2009); as Rector of the *San Luis Beltrán* Colombian Inter-missionary Seminary (2010–2017); and, since 2020, as Director of the Priestly Association of the Servants of the Holy Spirit. On March 21, 2024, Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of the Diocese of Girardota. He received episcopal ordination on May 18 in the municipality of El Carmen de Viboral and took possession of his assigned see on May 25, 2024, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary in the municipality of Girardota (Antioquia).