VATICAN CITY, JUNE 5, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Rodolfo Ignacio Quezada Toruño, retired archbishop of Guatemala, died Monday at the age of 80. «Very well, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord,» said Bishop Gustavo Rodolfo Mendoza Hernández, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Santiago, in a message to the faithful.
«The Church of Guatemala, and in particular the Archdiocese of Santiago of Guatemala,» he added, «send their deepest condolences to the Quezada Toruño family for such an irreparable loss, inviting them to keep alive their hope in the goodness of God, who has asked this new release of their loved one.»
In a telegram, Pope Benedict XVI sent his sympathies to the Church in Guatemala. «Profoundly saddened by the death of beloved Cardinal Rodolfo Ignacio Quezada Toruño, archbishop emeritus of Guatemala, I wish to send my heartfelt sympathy to the pastors and to the auxiliary bishops, as well as to the clergy and faithful of that particular Church, and to the relatives of the deceased cardinal,» the telegram stated.
The Holy Father said that he joins them «with fervent prayers for [the cardinal’s] soul so that the Lord will grant peace to him who served the Church so intensely and generously during his pastoral ministry, as leader of the Diocese of Zacapa and prelate of Santo Cristo de Esquipulas, and later as archbishop of that Metropolitan See of Guatemala.»
«With faith in Christ’s paschal mystery that enlightens and fills with hope in moments of grief, and the memory of a pastor dedicated to the evangelizing mission,» the Pope concluded, «I am pleased to impart from my heart, to all those who mourn such a heavy loss, a special Apostolic Blessing.»
