Diego Padrón

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Diego Rafael Padrón Sánchez (born 17 May 1939 in Montalbán, Venezuela) is a Venezuelan Catholic cardinal and former Archbishop of Cumaná. He led the Archdiocese of Cumaná from 2002 until his retirement in 2018. He also served as president of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference from 2012 to 2018.

Padrón was ordained a priest on 4 August 1963 for the Diocese of Valencia. He became Auxiliary Bishop of Caracas and Titular Bishop of Gisipa in 1990, and then Bishop of Maturín in 1994. He was appointed Archbishop of Cumaná in 2002. He studied philosophy and theology in Valencia and Caracas and earned a licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome (spent 1979–1983 there). He has held various roles in the church’s national activities, including leadership positions in commissions for laity and youth, catechesis, and biblical ministry.

In 2017 he spoke out against brutal attacks on opposition deputies in Venezuela’s National Assembly. Pope Francis created him a cardinal on 30 September 2023, and he was named Cardinal Priest of San Gaetano.