Fr. Mario León Dorado is a Spanish Roman Catholic priest, in the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He is currently the Apostolic prefect of Western Sahara.
Mario León Dorado | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 March 1974 Madrid, Spain |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Ordained | 2 June 2001 |
Congregations served | Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate |
Offices held | Apostolic prefect of Western Sahara (2013–present) |
Early life
editMario León Dorado was born in Madrid, Spain on 17 March 1974. As he grew up, he decided that he wanted to undertake missionary work, taking his vows on 15 September 1996. He was later ordained as priest on 2 June 2001, and served for three years in the Province of Jaén in Spain, with a desire to be posted to a ministry in an Arabic region afterwards.[1] This was following a visit to the Sahara area as a student.[2]
Western Sahara
editUpon the completion of the Jaén posting, he moved to the Sahara region and began to learn Arabic, French and English in order to better serve his parishioners. When he first arrived in the area, he was taken for a walk by Fr. Acacio Valbuena Rodríguez and told "these are your parishioners, all Muslims. Being with them is what you have to do".[1] On 24 June 2013, he was appointed by Pope Francis as Apostolic prefect of Western Sahara, prefecture of which he had been the administrator since the resignation of Rodríguez in 2009. He took possession of the position on 29 September, at a celebration at St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral, Laayoune.[1] Dorado is the third Apostolic prefect of the region, following Rodríguez and Félix Erviti Barcelona.[2]
Dorado described Christians in Western Sahara as being equivalent to foreigners, since there were around 600 in a total population of around 800,000 in the country. He serves two churches; the Catheral in Laayoune and a church in Dakhla, as well as a chapel in the port of Laayoune.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Oblate Father appointed Apostolic Prefect of Western Sahara". Independent Catholic News. 18 October 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ^ a b Aguilar, Cristina Sánchez (5 July 2013). "El misionero español Mario León Dorado, nuevo prefecto apostólico del Sahara Occidental". Alfa y Omega. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
External links
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