Appointment of auxiliary of Caracas, Venezuela

The Holy Father Francis has appointed the Reverend Ricardo Aldo Barreto Cairo, of the clergy of La Guaira, currently rector of the major seminary, as auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of Caracas, Venezuela, assigning him the titular see of Badie.

Reverend Ricardo Aldo Barreto Cairo

The Reverend Ricardo Aldo Barreto Cairo was born in Panama on 7 July 1968. At the age of 5 he transferred to Venezuela with his parents, and obtained Venezuelan citizenship in 1985 at the age of 17.

He completed his ecclesiastical studies in philosophy and theology at the major seminary of La Guaira. He was ordained a priest on 15 August 1998. He obtained a licentiate in philosophy and theology from the Catholic University of Caracas, a licentiate in moral theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, and attended specialist courses in social communication at the Universidad Central de Venezuela.

He was a member of the group of formators of the seminary of La Guaira, administrator of the parish of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Tarmas, diocesan penitentiary, chaplain of the Oblates of Divine Love in Rome, and parish priest of the parish of Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes in El Junquito. He is currently rector of the interdiocesan major seminary of San Pedro Apóstol in La Guaira, and president of the Organization of Seminaries of Venezuela (OSVEN).