Juan Francisco Fresno
Juan Francisco Fresno Larraín (July 26, 1914 – October 14, 2004) was a Chilean cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Santiago from 1983 to 1990. Born in Santiago to Luis Alfredo Fresno Ingunza and Elena Larraín Hurtado, he studied at the local seminary and earned a theology degree at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained a priest on December 18, 1937, and served as a pastor, spiritual director, and vice-director of the Minor Seminary.
Pope Pius XII appointed him bishop of Copiapó on June 15, 1958. He participated in the Second Vatican Council. In 1971 he became the metropolitan archbishop of La Serena, and in 1983 he was named archbishop of Santiago. Pope John Paul II created him Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Immacolata di Lourdes a Boccea on May 25, 1985.
As a church leader, Fresno played a key role in Chile’s return to democracy after the Pinochet dictatorship, helping unite opposition groups and supporting the transition process, which contributed to the 1988 plebiscite. He resigned as archbishop in 1990. He died in Santiago in 2004 and is buried in Santiago Cathedral.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:02 (CET).