Alberto Arturo Figueroa Morales

{{Infobox Christian leader

| type =

| honorific-prefix = His Excellency, The Most Reverend

| name = Alberto Arturo Figueroa Morales

| honorific-suffix =

| title = Bishop of Arecibo

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| archdiocese =

| diocese = Arecibo

| appointed = September 14, 2022

| enthroned = October 17, 2022

| retired =

| predecessor = Daniel Fernández Torres

| successor =

| other_post =

| ordination = June 2, 1990

| ordained_by = Ulises Aurelio Casiano Vargas

| consecration = December 27, 2019

| consecrated_by = Roberto González Nieves, Rubén González Medina, and Ghaleb Moussa Abdalla Bader

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1961|08|09}}

| birth_place = Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, US

| death_date =

| death_place =

| buried =

| nationality =

| alma_mater =

| previous_post = {{unbulleted list | Auxiliary Bishop of San Juan (2019–2022)|Titular Bishop of Phelbes (2019-2022) }}

| coat_of_arms =

| motto = Adonde no hay amor, pon amor y sacarás amor
(Where there is no love, put in love and you will bring out love)

| education = Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
Center for Caribbean Dominican Studies
University of Navarra
Pontifical University of Saint Anthony
Pontifical University of Salamanca

}}

{{Infobox bishopstyles

| name= Alberto Arturo Figueroa Morales

| dipstyle=

| offstyle=Your Excellency

| relstyle=Bishop

| image = Coat of Arms of Alberto Figueroa Morales, Bishop of Arecibo (Puerto Rico).svg

| image_size = 200px

}}

Alberto Arturo Figueroa Morales (born August 9, 1961) is a Puerto Rican prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been bishop of the Diocese of Arecibo in Puerto Rico since 2022. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Juan in Puerto Rico from 2019 to 2022.

He was a member of the Capuchin Friars for several years while preparing for the priesthood and again from 1991 to 2010 while a priest. He became a secular priest of the Archdiocese of San Juan in 2010.

Biography

=Early life=

Alberto Figueroa Morales was born on August 9, 1961, in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. He attended elementary and secondary school at several Catholic and public schools in Guaynabo and graduated in 1979.{{cn|date=January 2023}} In 1981, he entered the Capuchin Friars as a postulant and studied at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (PUCPR) in Ponce, Puerto Rico, obtaining a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in 1984. After completing the novitiate, Figueroa Morales made his temporary profession in 1985. He began theology studies at the Center for Dominican Studies in the Caribbean{{efn|Centro de Estudios de los Dominicos del Caribe (CEDOC)}} in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.{{cite web |access-date = January 25, 2023 | url = https://huellas.pucpr.edu/exalumno-es-el-nuevo-obispo-auxiliar-para-la-arquidiocesis-de-san-juan/ | language = es | title = Exalumno es el nuevo obispo auxiliar para la arquidiócesis de San Juan | date = November 21, 2019 |first = Celimer | last = Torres | website = Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico }}

In 1986, Figueroa Morales received a dispensation from his temporary vows and entered the diocesan seminary Jesús Maestro of the Diocese of Arecibo. After completing his studies in theology at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, he was ordained a deacon in 1989.

=Priest=

On June 2, 1990, Figueroa Morales was ordained a priest by Bishop Ulises Aurelio Casiano Vargas of Mayagüez{{efn|Casiano Vargas was apostolic administrator of Arecibo at the time; the see of Arecibo was vacant.}} for the Diocese of Arecibo.{{cite web | access-date = January 26, 2023 | url =https://www.diocesisdearecibo.org/2022/09/14/nombran-obispo-para-la-diocesis-de-arecibo/ | website = Diocese of Arecibo | language =es | date = September 14, 2022 | title = Nombran Obispo para la Diócesis de Arecibo }}

In 1991 he rejoined the Capuchins and in 1995 took his solemn vows. He worked in the archdiocese as a parish priest and pastor while holding positions of increasing responsibility within his order and for the archdiocese until he left the Capuchins and was incardinated in the Archdiocese of San Juan in 2010. He was parish priest of Santa Teresita{{efn|Santa Teresita is home to a community of Third Order Carmelites, one of 16 in Puerto Rico as of 2023.{{cite web | language = es | access-date = January 27, 2023 | url = http://www.parroquiasantateresita.com/TOC/Comunidades/Comunidades.htm | title = Comunidades Tercera Orden Carmelita en Puerto Rico | website = Parish of Santa Teresita }}}} in Ponce from 1991 to 1993. In 1995, Figueroa Morales completed a licentiate in sacred theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Anthony (Antonianum) in Rome. He returned to San Juan and was parish priest of Santa Teresita and Master of Franciscan Novices from 1995 to 2000; vice provincial of the San Juan Capuchins from 2000 to 2008; episcopal vicar of Río Piedras from 2009 to 2016; parish priest of Luisa de Marillac in San Juan from 2009 to 2019; vicar general and moderator of the archdiocesan curia, a member of the Presbyteral and Pastoral Council, and member of the College of Consultors and the Economic Committee from 2016 to 2019.

He made his perpetual profession as a Carmelite tertiary in the Community of Santa Teresita of the Third Order of Carmelites on July 20, 2017.{{efn|His name as a Carmelite is Alberto María de San José. "The Third Order is the branch of the Carmelite Order for lay people and diocesan clergy who ... make a formal and public commitment to living the Carmelite way of life ... live the Carmelite charism and practice the Evangelical Counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience according to their personal state in life."{{cite web | access-date = January 26, 2023 | url = https://www.carmelite.org/family/lay-carmel/carmelite-third-order-secular | title = The Carmelite Third Order (Secular) | website = British Province of Carmelites | archive-date = January 26, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230126022457/https://www.carmelite.org/family/lay-carmel/carmelite-third-order-secular | url-status = dead }}}} In 2018 he received a master of canon law degree from the Pontifical University of Salamanca in Spain.

=Auxiliary Bishop of San Juan=

Pope Francis appointed Figueroa Morales auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of San Juan on November 19, 2019.{{cite news |url= https://zenit.org/articles/us-pope-names-new-archbishop-of-shreveport-louisiana/ |work = Zenit | date = November 19, 2019 | title= US: Pope Names New Archbishop of Shreveport, Louisiana |accessdate= November 19, 2019 }}{{cite press release | publisher = Holy See Press Office |url=http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2019/11/19/191119b.html|title=Resignations and Appointments, 19.11.2019|date= November 19, 2019 |accessdate= November 19, 2019 }} Figueroa Morales received his episcopal consecration on December 27, 2019, from Archbishop Roberto González Nieves of San Juan, assisted by Archbishop Ghaleb Moussa Abdalla Bader, apostolic delegate to Puerto Rico, and Bishop Ruben González Medina of Ponce.{{cite web | access-date = January 25, 2023 | language = es | url = https://www.carmelitas.es/noticias/mons-alberto-figueroa-morales-t-carm-consagrado-obispo-auxiliar-de-san-juan-en-la-parroquia-carmelita-de-santa-teresita-puerto-rico-27-12-2019 | website = Provincia Carmelita Aragón, Castillo y Valencia | title = Mons. Alberto Figueroa Morales, T.Carm. Consagrado Obispo Auxiliar de San Juan en la carmelita de Santa Teresita (Puerto Rico, 27-12-2019) | date = December 29, 2019 }}{{efn|González Medina was president of the Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference.}} He was the youngest bishop in Puerto Rico.{{cite news | url = https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/notas/el-papa-francisco-nombra-a-un-obispo-auxiliar-para-puerto-rico/ |date= November 19, 2019 |work= El Nuevo Dia| access-date = January 27, 2023 | title = El papa Francisco nombra a un obispo auxiliar para Puerto Rico |language= es }} He chose as his episcopal motto the words of Saint John of the Cross: "{{lang|es|Adonde no hay amor, por amor y sacarás amor}}" ("Where there is no love, put love, and you will bring love forth").{{cite book | access-date = January 25, 2023 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=79Fz1ijq9_UC&pg=PA129 | page = 129 | publisher = Catholic University of America Press | title = St. John of the Cross: Songs in the Night | first = Colin P. | last =Thompson | date =2003 | isbn=9780813213309 }}

=Bishop of Arecibo=

On September 14, 2022, Pope Francis appointed Figueroa Morales bishop of Arecibo.{{cite press release |url= https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2022/09/14/220914c.html | publisher = Holy See Press Office |title=Resignations and Appointments, 14.09.2022 |accessdate=September 14, 2022 | date =September 14, 2022}}{{cite news |work = InfoVaticana | date = September 15, 2022 | access-date = January 25, 2023 |url=https://infovaticana.com/2022/09/15/la-diocesis-de-arecibo-donde-el-papa-destituyo-a-daniel-fernandez-tiene-nuevo-obispo/ |title=La diócesis de Arecibo, donde el Papa destituyó a Daniel Fernández, tiene nuevo obispo }} He was installed there on October 17, 2022.{{cite web | website = Diocese of Arecibo | access-date = January 25, 2023 | language = es | url = https://www.colegiosdiocesanosarecibo.org/2022/10/21/toma-posesion-s-e-r-mons-alberto-arturo-figueroa-morales-como-quinto-obispo-de-la-diocesis-de-arecibo-2/ | title = Toma posesión S.E.R. Mons. Alberto Arturo Figueroa Morales como quinto obispo de la Diócesis de Arecibo | first = Gerardo | last = Torres-Martell | date = October 21, 2022 }} His appointment followed Pope Francis' removal of his predecessor in Arecibo, Bishop Daniel Fernández Torres, the previous March.