The Colombian Episcopal Conference reported the passing of Monsignor Francisco Antonio Nieto Súa, emeritus bishop of Engativá, which occurred on the night of August 25 at the age of 77. With his death, the Colombian Church bids farewell to a pastor who dedicated more than five decades to serving the communities.
The Colombian Episcopal Conference expressed its condolences to the family of Monsignor Nieto Súa and to the ecclesiastical jurisdictions where he exercised his ministry. The bishops invited everyone to raise prayers for his eternal rest and to maintain Christian hope in eternal life.
Born in Panqueba, Boyacá, on September 17, 1948, Monsignor Nieto Súa developed a career of more than 50 years in the service of the Church, with pastoral responsibilities in Bogotá, Soacha, San José del Guaviare, and Engativá.
A career between formation and pastoral mission
He received his priestly ordination in 1973 from the then archbishop of Bogotá, Cardinal Aníbal Muñoz Duque. Since then, Nieto Súa began his pastoral ministry in communities of Bogotá and Soacha. From his early years, he also showed a special dedication to formation.
Between 1980 and 1983, he expanded his academic preparation in Rome, where he earned a degree in Church History at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Upon returning to Colombia, he joined the San José Major Seminary of Bogotá, an institution where he served for more than ten years as a formator, teacher, and director.
In 2008, he began his episcopal service as auxiliary of Bogotá by appointment of Benedict XVI. He was then appointed as bishop in San José del Guaviare, a diocese he presided over since 2011, and subsequently in Engativá, where he was bishop from 2015 to 2024. Upon reaching the age established to submit his resignation, he continued temporarily as apostolic administrator until the arrival of his successor.
Communication and history, other dimensions of his service
Throughout his career, Nieto Súa also found in the media a way to support the evangelizing mission. His work included participation in the Episcopal Commission of Communications and in the governing bodies of Cristovisión, where he came to preside over the Board of Directors.
His interest in ecclesial history linked him to the National Academy of Ecclesiastical History and the Academy of Bogotá, where he cultivated the study of the Church's memory. In 2007, he received the title of Chaplain of His Holiness in recognition of his career.
The wake for Monsignor Nieto Súa began this Wednesday, August 26. The funeral will take place on Friday the 28th, at 11:00 a.m., at the San Juan Bautista Cathedral, presided over by Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio.
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