Bishop Jorge Pedro Carrión Pavlich of Puno, Peru, died at age 76, just two days after the death of Archbishop Richard Daniel Alarcón Urrutia of Cusco and less than two weeks before Pope Leo XIV arrives in the country.
His death was announced Sunday, Nov. 1, during a Mass at the Shrine of the Virgin of Candelaria in Puno. He had been hospitalized at a clinic in Lima.
The Peruvian bishops' conference issued a statement of condolence shortly afterward. "We join in prayer with the Church of Puno, his family and the entire Catholic community, thanking God for his life and his dedication to the service of the Church," the bishops said, asking prayers for his eternal rest and for the consolation of his family.
Alarcón, 74, died Friday, Oct. 30, after a battle with cancer. He had been helping prepare for the pope's stop in Cusco on Nov. 15, and Pope Leo expressed sorrow at his death. Meanwhile, Leo, who served for two decades in Peru as a missionary and later as bishop of Chiclayo, will visit the country Nov. 11–16, according to the published schedule. Puno is not on the itinerary.
Five decades of service
Carrión was born in Tarma, in Peru's central Andes. The Archdiocese of Lima noted that he had marked 50 years as a priest and more than 26 years as a bishop.
Pope John Paul II named him a bishop in May 2000, and he went on to lead the Diocese of Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca, for more than 24 years. Before that, he served as assistant secretary of the Peruvian bishops' conference.
Funeral arrangements
A wake was held Nov. 1 at the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Santiago de Surco, Lima. The vigil continues Nov. 2 in Puno, where his funeral Mass will be celebrated Nov. 3.
He will be buried Nov. 4 in the cemetery in his hometown of Tarma.
This story was first published by EWTN News Español. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
