Raúl Eduardo Vela Chiriboga

Raúl Eduardo Vela Chiriboga (1 January 1934 – 15 November 2020) was an Ecuadorian prelate of the Catholic Church who was the Archbishop of Quito from 2003 to 2010. He became a bishop coadjutor in 1972 and served as an auxiliary in Guayaquil, Bishop of Azogues, and Military Ordinary of Ecuador before his appointment in Quito. Pope Benedict XVI raised him to the rank of cardinal in 2010.

Biography Raúl Eduardo Vela Chiriboga was born on 1 January 1934 in Riobamba, Ecuador. He was one of nine children. He attended a Salesian high school there.

On 20 April 1972 Pope Paul VI appointed him titular Bishop of Ausafa and Auxiliary Bishop of Guayaquil. He received his episcopal consecration on 21 May 1972. During this time he worked with the Christian Family Movement.

On 29 April 1975 Pope Paul named him Bishop of Azogues. In February 1979, he participated as a delegate of Ecuador's bishops in the third General Conference of Latin American Bishops and from 1981 to 1988 he was a member of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM).

Pope Benedict elevated Vela Chiriboga to the status of cardinal at a consistory on 20 November 2010, making him Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Via. He participated in the papal conclave of 2013 which elected Pope Francis.

He died on 15 November 2020 in Quito.