“Bishop of the Poor”: Mourning and Recognition After Death of Pedro Casaldáliga

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Prominent leftwing figures and government officials in Latin America have expressed their sorrow at the death of the Catholic bishop and liberation theologian Pedro Casaldáliga.

The “bishop of the poor” died on Saturday at the age of 92 in the intensive care unit of a São Paulo city hospital in Brazil. The priest of the Claretian Order had been hospitalized since Tuesday last week.

“Venezuela expresses its deep sorrow for the death of Don Pedro Casaldáliga, the bishop of the poor. He preached the Gospel of justice, peace, and liberation and lived it uncompromisingly through his example and brave attitude, despite all threats against his life,” said Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza.

Omar Valiño, director of the Cuban National Library, also lamented the bishop’s death and recalled his humanist legacy: “Pedro Casaldáliga, a Christ on earth who embodied the true revolutionary Christian value, died in Brazil.”

“Fidel [Castro] gave him the boots with which Don Pedro went to the Vatican to defend his radical views before the Curia. We will remember him,” said Valiño. Venezuela’s Culture Minister Ernesto Villegas posted the cover of a 1992 book by Casaldáliga entitled “The Spirituality of Liberation” on social media.

Casaldáliga’s body will be buried in São Felix do Araguaia in Mato Grosso, the place he never wanted to leave. The pioneer of the theology of liberation had been transferred from Amazonas to São Paulo to be treated for pneumonia associated with a pleural effusion.

The Catalan, appointed bishop in 1971, lived a large part of his life in the Amazon region at the side of socially marginalized and persecuted indigenous tribes. For decades the liberation theologian fought to reform the Catholic Church from within. He had lived in Brazil since 1968.

Casaldáliga was also one of the co-founders of the country’s National Indigenous Council. His defense of the indigenous peoples exposed him more than once to death threats. Yet he never left the Amazon.