Bishop José Luis Retana Gozalo

Bishop José Luis Retana Gozalo was born on 12 March 1953 in Pedro Bernardo, diocese of Ávila. He completed his philosophical and theological studies at the Seminary of Ávila in Salamanca. He studied for two years at the Faculty of Theology in Fribourg, Switzerland, and was awarded a licentiate in theology and a doctorate at the University of Salamanca. He was ordained a priest in Pedro Bernardo on 29 September 1979. He has held the following positions: formator and professor of the diocesan College La Asunción de Nuestra Señora in Ávila (1979-1993); rector of the Seminary of Ávila in Salamanca (1993-1999 and 2003-2012); episcopal vicar and special secretary to the bishop (1998-2005); canon of the Cathedral (2002-2017); episcopal delegate for diocesan teaching institutions and parish priest of San Pedro Bautista (2012-2017), and dean of the Cathedral chapter of Ávila (2015-2017). On 9 March 2017, he was appointed bishop of Plasencia and consecrated on the following 24 June. Within the Episcopal Conference he has served as member of the Episcopal Commission for Teaching and Catechesis (2017-2020). Since 2020 he has been a member of the Episcopal Commission for Education and Culture.