Juan José Gerardi Conedera
| Juan José Gerardi Conedera | |
|---|---|
| Bishop Emeritus of Santa Cruz del Quiché | |
 |
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| See | Diocese of Santa Cruz del Quiché |
| Appointed | 22 August 1974 |
| Term ended | 14 August 1984 |
| Predecessor | José Julio Aguilar García |
| Successor | Julio Edgar Cabrera Ovalle |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 21 December 1946 |
| Consecration | 30 July 1967 by Bruno Torpigliani |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
27 December 1922 Guatemala City, Guatemala |
| Died | 26 April 1998 (aged 75) San Sebastian Church, Guatemala |
| Nationality | Guatemalan |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
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Monsignor Juan José Gerardi Conedera (27 December 1922 – 26 April 1998) was a Guatemalan Roman Catholic bishop and human rights defender who was long active in working with the indigenous Mayan peoples of the country. In the 1970s he gained government recognition of indigenous languages as official languages, and helped secure permission for radio stations to broadcast in indigenous languages. In 1988 he was appointed to the government's National Reconciliation Commission to begin the process of accounting for abuses during the civil war.
He also worked on the associated Recovery of Historical Memory Project, which was sponsored by the Catholic Church. Two days after he announced the release of its report on victims of the Guatemalan Civil War, Guatemala: Nunca Más!, in April 1998, Bishop Gerardi was attacked in his garage and beaten to death.
In 2001, in the first trial in a civilian court of members of the military in Guatemalan history, three Army officers were convicted of his death and sentenced to long prison terms. A priest was convicted as an accomplice and also sentenced.
Gerardi Conedera, of partial Italian ancestry, was born in Guatemala City on 27 December 1922. He studied at the city's seminary and won a scholarship to study theology in New Orleans, United States. On 21 December 1946, he was ordained a priest and served in several rural areas of Guatemala such as Mataquescuintla, San Pedro Sacatepéquez and Palencia, as well as in the capital city.
On 9 May 1967, he was elected Bishop of Verapaz, assuming office the following 11 August. In this position, he emphasised pastoral work among indigenous communities of Mayan peoples. During the country's on-going civil war in the 1970s, Gerardi was a strong proponent for the official recognition of Guatemala's indigenous languages, to improve the status of the indigenous peoples. He was instrumental in securing authorisation for two radio stations to broadcast in Mayan languages.
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