Archbishop Edmundo Ponziano Valenzuela Mellid SDB (born 19 November 1944) is a Roman Catholic missionary currently serving in Paraguay as the sixth Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Asunción. On February 13, 2006, he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as Apostolic Vicar to Chaco Paraguayo, an area with a population of 18,000 but only 5 ordained priests. As a result of this appointment, he was consecrated to the episcopate 22 April 2006. Prior to this appointment, Valenzuela served as a high-profile missionary in Angola. Valenzuela was ordained a priest of the Salesians of Don Bosco in 1977.[1]


Edmundo Valenzuela

VI Archbishop (Emeritus) of Asunción
XXXVII Bishop of Paraguay
Valenzuela in 2017
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
ArchdioceseAsunción
SeeAsunción
Appointed6 November 2014
PredecessorEustaquio Pastor Cuquejo Verga
SuccessorAdalberto Martínez Flores
Previous post(s)
Orders
Ordination3 April 1971
by Antonio Samorè
Consecration22 April 2006
by Eustaquio Pastor Cuquejo Verga
Personal details
Born
Edmundo Ponziano Valenzuela Mellid

(1944-11-19) 19 November 1944 (age 80)
Alma materPontifical Salesian University
MottoPor Cristo al Padre en el Espíritu
Coat of armsEdmundo Valenzuela's coat of arms

Upon the resignation of Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Asunción Pastor Cuquejo due to age, Valenzuela, as Coadjutor, became the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Asunción on 6 November 2014, as the 44th bishop of Asunción and the 6th metropolitan archbishop. [2][excessive citations] He received the archiepiscopal pallium from Pope Francis on 29 June 2015 at St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.[3]

On 6 March 2022 he was succeeded by Adalberto Martínez Flores who became the VII Archbishop of Asunción and Valenzuela, after his resignation, became Archbishop Emeritus.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Edmundo Ponziano Valenzuela Mellid". Catholic Hierarchy.
  2. ^ * "Rinunce e nomine, 06.11.2014 | Rinuncia e Successione dell'Arcivescovo di Asunción (Paraguay)" [Resignations and Appointments, 6 November 2014 | Resignation and Succession of Archbishop of Asunción (Paraguay)]. Holy See Press Office (in Italian). 6 November 2014.
  3. ^ "46 Arzobispos recibieron el palio de manos del Papa" [46 Archbishops received the pallium from the hands of the Pope]. Sistema de Información de la Arquidiócesis de Guadalajara (in Spanish). 3 July 2015. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
edit