Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel
Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel is a Mexican Roman Catholic prelate who served as bishop of Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas, in the Archdiocese of Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico, from 2000 to 2015. From 1991 to 2000 he was Bishop of Tapachula, Chiapas, where he was succeeded by Rogelio Cabrera López. Ordained as a priest in 1963, he celebrated his 50th anniversary of priesthood in 2013. He became Bishop of San Cristobal de las Casas, following the resignation of Bishop Samuel Ruiz, a social progressive who had defended the rights of the indigenous peoples and of the Zapatista rebels. Arizmendi consistently defended Ruiz against his many critics. Arizmendi has a reputation for being theologically conservative but socially progressive. In 2012, he announced that he would be organizing efforts to translate the Catholic Mass and the Bible into the indigenous language Nahuatl.
On May 1, 2015, Arizmendi turned 75 and presented his resignation to Pope Francis, but was requested to stay in the position until further notice from the see. Msgr. Enrique Díaz Díaz, who was named as auxiliary bishop of the diocese in May 2014, is expected to succeed Arizmendi as bishop.
