The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Jose Mauricio Vélez García as auxiliary of Medellin (area 718, population 3,868,877, Catholics 2,918,395, priests 1,061, religious 3,536), Colombia. The bishop-elect was born in 1964 in Medellin, Colombia and was ordained a priest in 1992. He studied philosophy and theology at the Pontifical Bolivarian University, and holds a licentiate in marriage and the family at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute, Rome, and has frequented specialist courses in moral theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome and in bioethics at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome.

He has served in a number of pastoral roles, including vicar of the “Santa Gertrudis” in Envigado, chaplain of Confenalco, professor at the “Luis Amigo” Catholic University of Medellin, chaplain of the municipality of Medellin, secretary of the department of Ecclesial Communion and Dialogue of CELAM, and pastor of the “La Inmaculada” parish. He is currently episcopal vicar of the western zone and pastor of the “Nuestra Señora de Belen” parish.