The Most Famous

RELIGIOUS FIGURES from Venezuela

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This page contains a list of the greatest Venezuelan Religious Figures. The pantheon dataset contains 3,187 Religious Figures, 6 of which were born in Venezuela. This makes Venezuela the birth place of the 52nd most number of Religious Figures behind Chile, and Belarus.

Top 7

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Venezuelan Religious Figures of all time. This list of famous Venezuelan Religious Figures is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

Photo of Juan Vicente Pérez

1. Juan Vicente Pérez (1909 - 2024)

With an HPI of 54.97, Juan Vicente Pérez is the most famous Venezuelan Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.

Juan Vicente Pérez Mora (27 May 1909 – 2 April 2024) was a Venezuelan supercentenarian who, until his death aged 114 years, 311 days, was the world's oldest verified living man following the death of Spain's Saturnino de la Fuente García on 18 January 2022. He is the fourth-oldest verified man ever, after Jiroemon Kimura, Christian Mortensen and Emiliano Mercado del Toro. At the time of his death, he was the second-oldest living Latin American, behind Inah Canabarro Lucas, and the fourth-oldest verified living person in the world, behind Maria Branyas, Tomiko Itooka and Canabarro Lucas.

Photo of Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo

2. Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo (b. 1944)

With an HPI of 51.35, Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo is the 2nd most famous Venezuelan Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo (Spanish pronunciation: [baltaˈsaɾ enˈri.ke ˈporas kaɾˈðoso]; born 10 October 1944) is a Venezuelan prelate of the Catholic Church, who was named Metropolitan Archbishop of Caracas in 2023 after serving as apostolic administrator there for four and a half years. He was auxiliary bishop of Mérida from 1983 to 1991 and then metropolitan archbishop of Mérida from 1991 to 2023. Pope Francis made him a cardinal in 2016.

Photo of Arturo Sosa

3. Arturo Sosa (b. 1948)

With an HPI of 50.68, Arturo Sosa is the 3rd most famous Venezuelan Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Arturo Marcelino Sosa Abascal (born 12 November 1948) is a Venezuelan Catholic priest who serves as the 31st and present superior general of the Society of Jesus. He was elected by the Society's 36th General Congregation on 14 October 2016, succeeding Adolfo Nicolás. He is the first person born in Latin America to lead the Jesuits.

Photo of Jorge Liberato Urosa Savino

4. Jorge Liberato Urosa Savino (1942 - 2021)

With an HPI of 49.05, Jorge Liberato Urosa Savino is the 4th most famous Venezuelan Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Jorge Liberato Urosa y Savino (28 August 1942 – 23 September 2021) was a Venezuelan prelate of the Catholic Church. He was auxiliary bishop of Caracas from 1982 to 1990, Archbishop of Valencia from 1990 to 2005, and Archbishop of Caracas from 2005 to 2018. He was made a cardinal in 2006.

Photo of Rosalio José Castillo Lara

5. Rosalio José Castillo Lara (1922 - 2007)

With an HPI of 48.64, Rosalio José Castillo Lara is the 5th most famous Venezuelan Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Rosalio José Castillo Lara (4 September 1922 – 16 October 2007) was a Venezuelan prelate of the Catholic Church. He worked in the Roman Curia for almost all of his career, first with responsibility for rewriting the code of canon law and then in administrative positions in the government of the Holy See. He was made a cardinal in 1985.

Photo of Ignacio Velasco

6. Ignacio Velasco (1929 - 2003)

With an HPI of 47.70, Ignacio Velasco is the 6th most famous Venezuelan Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Antonio Ignacio Velasco García, S.D.B. (17 January 1929 – 6 July 2003) was a Venezuelan prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the Archbishop of Caracas from 27 May 1995 until his death.

Photo of José Humberto Quintero Parra

7. José Humberto Quintero Parra (1902 - 1984)

With an HPI of 43.27, José Humberto Quintero Parra is the 7th most famous Venezuelan Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

José Humberto Quintero Parra (September 22, 1902 – July 8, 1984) was the first Venezuelan Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Caracas from 1960 to 1980, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1961.

People

Pantheon has 7 people classified as Venezuelan religious figures born between 1902 and 1948. Of these 7, 2 (28.57%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Venezuelan religious figures include Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo, and Arturo Sosa. The most famous deceased Venezuelan religious figures include Juan Vicente Pérez, Jorge Liberato Urosa Savino, and Rosalio José Castillo Lara. As of April 2024, 1 new Venezuelan religious figures have been added to Pantheon including Juan Vicente Pérez.

Living Venezuelan Religious Figures

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Deceased Venezuelan Religious Figures

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Newly Added Venezuelan Religious Figures (2024)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Religious Figures were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 4 most globally memorable Religious Figures since 1700.