Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel is a retired Mexican Bishop of San Cristóbal de Las Casas who has made significant contributions to the Church’s outreach to indigenous communities in Mexico.

Born on May 1, 1940, in Chiltepec, Mexico, Arizmendi Esquivel was ordained priest in 1963. He served as the rector of the seminary in the Diocese of Toluca before being appointed Bishop of Tapachula by Pope John Paul II in 1991.

He served on several diocesan commissions and councils and became secretary general of CELAM in 1991.  In 2000, he was transferred to become the Bishop of San Cristóbal de Las Casas in Chiapas, a position he held until his resignation was accepted by Pope Francis in 2017.

Cardinal Arizmendi Esquivel is best known for his work in building up the indigenous church in Mexico, particularly in the Diocese of San Cristóbal de Las Casas. He continued the pastoral work of his predecessor, Bishop Samuel Ruiz, focusing on creating an autochthonous church that respected and incorporated indigenous cultures.

One of his most significant achievements has been leading the Mexican bishops’ initiatives to translate the Bible into various Indigenous languages. Under his guidance, the complete Bible was translated into Tzeltal in 2003 and Tzotzil (Zinacantán variant) in 2015. In 2024, a complete translation into the Tzotzil of the San Juan Chamula area, spoken by approximately 350,000 people, was achieved.

In 2013, Arizmendi Esquivel successfully petitioned Pope Francis to revisit the topic of ordaining indigenous deacons, which had been prohibited by the Vatican for over a decade. This led to the resumption of such ordinations shortly after.

He hosted Pope Francis during his visit to Chiapas in February 2016, despite initial resistance from the Mexican government. During this visit, the Pope apologized for the “dispossession” suffered by indigenous peoples. He has been described “as one of the few bishops in Mexico who fully agrees with the Pope.”

The cardinal is also said not to “believe in liberation theology, but believes in a church for the poor,” and has a focus on “democracy, ecology and the subject of victims of violence.”

In recognition of his work, Pope Francis named Arizmendi Esquivel to the College of Cardinals in October 2020, although due to his age (over 80), he is not eligible to vote in the next conclave.

Arizmendi Esquivel has been described as a “modernizer” and although his work has been praised, it has not been without controversy. His project of building a native church in a mostly indigenous diocese caused conflict with the Church hierarchy and land-owners. The practice of ordaining married, indigenous men as deacons was particularly contentious, with some Church leaders fearing it would weaken the role of priests or open the door to married priests.

Cardinal Arizmendi Esquivel speaks Spanish and has knowledge of several Indigenous languages of Mexico, particularly those spoken in Chiapas such as Tzeltal and Tzotzil.