The Holy Father has appointed as bishop of Tibú, Colombia, the Reverend Israel Bravo Cortés, of the clergy of the diocese of Cúcuta, until now parish priest of the Minor Basilca of Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Chiquinquirá – Parroquia San Luis Gonzaga and vicar general of the diocese.
Msgr. Israel Bravo Cortés was born on June 4, 1971, in El Espinal. He completed his priestly formation at the San José Major Seminary in Cúcuta. He obtained a licentiate in philosophy of social communication at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, a licentiate in theology, and a specialization in pastoral communication at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, and a specialization in youth ministry at the Instituto Teológico Pastoral para América Latina (ITEPAL).
He was ordained a priest on February 1, 1997, and incardinated in the diocese of Cúcuta.
He has held the following offices: deacon of San Pedro Claver (1996), parish vicar of Nuestra Señora del Rosario (1997), parish administrator (1998) and parish priest of San Judas Tadeo (1999-2003), episcopal delegate for youth pastoral care (2000-2003), formator at San José Major Seminary in Cúcuta (2005-2009), and parish administrator and parish priest of San Martín de Porres in Bogotá (2010-2012). From 2013 to date he has served as parish priest of the Minor Basilica of Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Chiquinquirá – Parroquia San Luis Gonzaga and vicar general of the diocese.
The diocese of Tibú serves 203,800 Catholics, which makes up 97 percent of the area’s population. The diocese includes 17 parishes, 1 mission, 25 priests (23 diocesan, 2 religious), 1 deacon, 18 lay religious (6 brothers, 12 sisters), and 6 seminarians (2018).
Tibú is a municipality of Colombia located in the department of Norte de Santander, in the northeast of the country, on the border with Venezuela and on the banks of the Tibú River. The area of present-day Tibú was established as a camp basement by oil companies who first arrived in the area in 1945.
