Cardinal Ignacio Velasco, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Venezuela, died on July 7. Cause of death was not released. He was 74.
Velasco was ordained in 1955 when he was 25 years old. He spent many years working in the Amazon jungle before rising through the ranks of the church. He was elected titular Bishop of Utimmira and appointed Apostolic Vicar of Puerto Ayacucho in 1989, then raised to the archbishopric of Caracas in 1995.
Velasco was best known for his combustible relationship with President Hugo Ch