Roberto González Nieves

For the Mexican race car driver, see Roberto González.

The Most Reverend Roberto Octavio González Nieves O.F.M.
Archbishop of San Juan

Archdiocese	San Juan
Appointed	March 26, 1999
Installed	May 8, 1999
Predecessor	Luis Aponte Martínez
Orders
Ordination	May 8, 1977 by Lorenzo Michele Joseph Graziano
Consecration	October 3, 1988 by Bernard Francis Law, John O'Connor, and Luis Aponte Martinez
Personal details
Born	(1950-06-02) June 2, 1950 Elizabeth, New Jersey
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Previous post	Auxiliary Bishop of Boston Bishop of Corpus Christi
Alma mater	Siena College Washington Theological Union
Motto	VITA PER JESUM

Styles of Roberto Octavio Gonzalez Nieves

Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Archbishop

Roberto Octavio González Nieves, O.F.M., is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Puerto Rico and the current Archbishop of San Juan.

Biography

Early life and education

He received his elementary education at Academia Santa Monica in Santurce, a district of San Juan. For his secondary education, he attended St. Joseph Seraphic Minor Seminary in Callicoon, New York. He then studied at and graduated from Siena College in Loudonville, New York. Formally accepted as a candidate for the Franciscan Order at Christ House in Lafayette, New Jersey, in 1970, the following year he entered the novitiate of the Order at St. Francis Friary in Brookline, Massachusetts, where he professed his first vows in 1972.^[1] González earned the degree of Master of Sacred Theology at the Washington Theological Coalition (now Washington Theological Union) in Silver Spring, Maryland. He also holds a doctorate in Sociology from Fordham University. He authored The Hispanic Catholic in the United States: a Socio-Cultural and Religious Profile. He has received an honorary doctorate from the Graduate Theological Foundation in South Bend, Indiana.

Priesthood

On May 8, 1977, González was ordained a priest, and, in 1982, he was assigned to serve at St. Pius V Parish in the South Bronx, before going to Holy Cross Church, also in the Bronx. In 1986, he was appointed pastor of that parish. He remained there until 1988, when he was named by the Holy See as an auxiliary bishop of Boston as an auxiliary bishop to Cardinal Bernard Francis Law. González became popular with the Hispanic community of the region.

In 1995, González was appointed as coadjutor bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Corpus Christi, in which post he served until 1997, when he succeeded as bishop of the diocese. As in Boston, González Nieves was very popular with the Hispanic community living in Corpus Christi.

Archbishop of San Juan

On March 26, 1999, González Nieves was appointed archbishop of San Juan by Pope John Paul II.^[2] He was installed as archbishop on May 8 in a ceremony that was attended by many of his friends from Corpus Christi, New York and Boston. Other people who attended included the then mayor of San Juan and future Governor of Puerto Rico Sila Calderón, former Governor Carlos Romero Barceló, as well as other Puerto Rican political figures.

The ceremony also marked the retirement of Cardinal Luis Aponte Martínez, who had been the Archbishop of San Juan since 1965.^[3] Aponte Martínez observed that the ceremony marked the first time in history that a Puerto Rican archbishop had handed the see over to another Puerto Rican archbishop.

Almost immediately, González Nieves raised his profile across the island. As archbishop, he has articulated outspoken and often controversial views, particularly in defense of the Navy-Vieques protests and in his denunciation of homosexuality, among other things.^[4] His actions in the Vieques Protests have gained international notoriety, and he has been viewed as a strong Latin-American leader of the Catholic Church.

He has proclaimed his pride in being Puerto Rican, asked the Government to work hard to preserve the national identity of Puerto Ricans, and criticized political corruption in Puerto Rico.^[5]

During the spring of 2006, along with several Protestant leaders, he was instrumental in persuading Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vila, Senate President Kenneth McClintock, and House Speaker José Aponte Hernández to resolve Puerto Rico's fiscal crisis, which had sparked a two-week-long government shutdown.^[6]

In 2009, there was speculation that Pope Benedict XVI might name Nieves as the Archbishop of New York to replace Cardinal Edward Egan.^[7]

References

↑ Cheney, David. "Archbishop Roberto Octavio González Nieves, O.F.M.". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
↑ "With His People". Catholic New York. Archived from the original on September 22, 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
↑ "Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico". GCatholic. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
↑ Vidal, Jose. "A Government Cannot Oblige Religions to Go Against Their Convictions (Part 1)". Zenit. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
↑ Martin, Michelle. "Archbishop visits to cement bonds". Catholic New World. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
↑ "Archbishop Becomes Referee". HNP Today. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
↑ Pentin, Edward. "Pope to Announce New Archbishop of New York". Newsmax. Retrieved 24 March 2013.

External links

Episcopal succession

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Luis Aponte Martínez	Archbishop of San Juan 1999-Present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by René Henry Gracida	Bishop of Corpus Christi 1997-1999	Succeeded by Edmond Carmody
Preceded by –	Coadjutor Bishop of Corpus Christi 1995-1997	Succeeded by –
Preceded by –	Auxiliary Bishop of Boston 1988-1995	Succeeded by –

Diocese of Corpus Christi

Ordinaries	Apostolic Vicars of Brownsville Dominic Manucy Peter Verdaguer y Prat Bishops of Corpus Christi Paul Joseph Nussbaum Emmanuel Boleslaus Ledvina Mariano Simon Garriga Thomas Joseph Drury René Henry Gracida Roberto González Nieves Edmond Carmody William Mulvey

Churches	Cathedral Corpus Christi Cathedral

Education	High School Incarnate Word Academy, Corpus Christi St. John Paul II High School, Corpus Christi

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Archdiocese of Boston

Ordinaries	Bishops Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus Benedict Joseph Fenwick John Bernard Fitzpatrick Archbishops John Joseph Williams William Henry O'Connell Richard Cushing Humberto Sousa Medeiros Bernard Francis Law Seán Patrick O'Malley Auxiliary Bishops Joseph Gaudentius Anderson John Anthony Dooher Walter James Edyvean Robert Francis Hennessey Arthur Kennedy Peter John Uglietto

Churches	Cathedral Cathedral of the Holy Cross Basilica and shrines Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Boston St. Anthony Shrine, Boston St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine, Boston Parishes Holy Name, West Roxbury Holy Trinity, Lowell Our Lady of Czestochowa, Boston Our Lady of Good Voyage, Gloucester Our Lady Help of Christians, Newton Sacred Heart, Cambridge St. Albert the Great, Weymouth St. Charles Borromeo, Waltham St. John the Baptist, Salem St. John the Evangelist, Cambridge St. Joseph, Boston St. Leonard, Boston St. Mary, Dedham (History) St. Mary, Milton St. Mary, Newton St. Mary, Waltham St. Mary, Winchester St. Mary – St. Catherine of Siena, Charlestown St. Paul, Cambridge St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr, Chelsea St. Susanna, Dedham Former parishes Holy Cross, Boston Our Lady of Mount Carmel, East Boston St. Aidan, Brookline St. Catherine of Sienna, Charlestown St. Joseph, Roxbury St. Mary, Charlestown St. Stephen, Boston

Education	Seminaries Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary St. John's Seminary Colleges Boston College Emmanuel College Labouré College Marian Court College Merrimack College Regis College St. John's Seminary High Schools Academy of Notre Dame, Tyngsboro Archbishop Williams High School, Braintree Arlington Catholic High School, Arlington Austin Preparatory School, Reading Bishop Fenwick High School, Peabody Boston College High School, Dorchester Cardinal Spellman High School, Brockton Cathedral High School, Boston Catholic Memorial School, West Roxbury Central Catholic High School, Lawrence Cristo Rey Boston High School, Dorchester Elizabeth Seton Academy, Boston Fontbonne Academy, Milton Lowell Catholic High School, Lowell Malden Catholic High School, Malden Marian High School Framingham Matignon High School, Cambridge Mount Alvernia High School, Newton Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Boston Nazareth Academy, Wakefield Newton Country Day School, Newton Notre Dame Academy, Hingham Notre Dame High School, Lawrence Pope John XXIII High School, Everett Presentation of Mary Academy, Methuen Sacred Heart High School, Kingston Saint Clement High School, Medford St. John's Preparatory School, Danvers St. Mary's High School, Lynn Saint Sebastian's School, Needham Ursuline Academy, Dedham Xaverian Brothers High School, Westwood

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