Juan Francisco Fresno

His Eminence Juan Francisco Fresno Larraín
Archbishop Emeritus of Santiago
The cardinal in 1987 during the papal visit to Chile.
Church	Roman Catholic Church
Archdiocese	Santiago
See	Santiago
Appointed	3 May 1983
Installed	10 June 1983
Term ended	30 March 1990
Predecessor	Raúl Silva Henríquez
Successor	Carlos Oviedo Cavada
Other post(s)	Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Immacolata di Lourdes a Boccea (1985–2004)
Previous post(s)	Bishop of Copiapó (1958–71) Archbishop of La Serena (1971–83) President of the Chilean Episcopal Conference (1976–77)
Orders
Ordination	18 December 1937 by José Horacio Campillo Infante
Consecration	15 August 1958 by Alfredo Cifuentes Gómez
Created cardinal	25 May 1985 by Pope John Paul II
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born	Juan Francisco Fresno Larraín (1914-07-26)26 July 1914 Santiago, Chile
Died	14 October 2004(2004-10-14) (aged 90) Santiago, Chile
Buried	Santiago Cathedral
Parents	Luis Alfredo Fresno Ingunza Elena Larraín Hurtado
Alma mater	Pontifical Catholic University of Chile Pontifical Gregorian University
Motto	Adveniat regnum Tuum
Coat of arms

Styles of Juan Francisco Fresno Larraín
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal
See	Santiago de Chile

Juan Francisco Fresno Larraín (26 July 1914 – 14 October 2004) was a Chilean cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Santiago de Chile from 1983 to 1990, and was elevated to the Cardinalate in 1985.

Early life and ordination

He was born in Santiago de Chile as the son of Luis Alfredo Fresno Ingunza y Elena Larraín Hurtado. He was educated at the seminary of Santiago de Chile and later at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome where he earned a licentiate in theology. He was ordained to the priesthood on 18 December 1937 at the cathedral of Santiago, by Horacio Campillo, archbishop of Santiago.

Priest and bishop

Between 1937 and 1958 he worked as a pastor, in spiritual director and was vice-director of the Minor Seminary. S.S. Pope Pius XII appointed him bishop of Copiapó on 15 June 1958. He attended the Second Vatican Council. He was promoted to the metropolitan see of La Serena on 28 July 1971. by pope Paul VI.

President of the Episcopal Conference of Chile

He was elected President of the Episcopal Conference of Chile in 1975. He played a key role in the efforts to restore democracy in Chile during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet by making contact with opposition leaders and persuaded them to unite in a pro-democracy effort that included Marxists and the democratic right. After the fall of Pinochet he promoted their first tense contacts with the government and was one of the supporters of Acuerdo Nacional para la Transición a la Democracia Plena (National Agreement for the Transition to Full Democracy). This in turn led to the 1988 Chilean national plebiscite that marked the beginning of the end of the military regime.

Cardinal

Pope John Paul II named him Archbishop of Santiago de Chile on 3 May 1983. He was created Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria Immacolata di Lourdes a Boccea in the consistory of 25 May 1985. He resigned the pastoral government of the archdiocese on 30 March 1990. He lost the right to participate a conclave when turned 80 years of age, in 1994.

Death

He died 14 October 2004 at 8:50 p.m in his private residence in Santiago.