Early life Luis Zarama was born on November 28, 1958, in
Pasto,
Nariño, Colombia, the oldest of the six children of Rafael Zarama and Maria Pasqualetto de Zarama. Deciding to become a priest, Luis Zarama entered the
seminary of Pasto in 1982. While at the seminary, Zarama taught at local
high schools in Pasto. He also studied philosophy and theology at the Universidad Mariana in Pasto. Zarama went to Bogotá in 1987 to study
canon law at the
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. After earning his
licentiate, he emigrated to the United States in 1989.
Priesthood Zarama was
ordained into the priesthood by Archbishop
John Francis Donoghue for the Archdiocese of Atlanta at the
Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta on November 27, 1993. He later said that the mountains of Northern Georgia reminded him of Colombia and that his time there was a great learning experience. The next year, he also assumed the position of
defender of the bond for the archdiocese. Donoghue named Zarama as assistant director of the Vocations Office in 2000. In 2006, Archbishop
Wilton Daniel Gregory named him as
vicar general. While in Atlanta, Zarama was also a member of the Committee for Continuing Education of Priests and the priest personnel board.
Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta On July 27, 2009, Zarama was appointed
auxiliary bishop of Atlanta and titular bishop of
Bararus by
Pope Benedict XVI. Zarama presided over the Sunday mass and delivered the
homily at the Steubenville Atlanta Youth Conference in 2016.
Bishop of Raleigh On July 5, 2017,
Pope Francis appointed Zarama as bishop of Raleigh. He was installed on August 29, 2017, at
Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral in Raleigh. In August 2018, after the resignation of Cardinal
Theodore McCarrick for the sexual abuse of minors, Zarama stated that he would pray for the renewal of church leadership and the courage to take the necessary steps to end
clerical sexual abuse. After the release in August 2018 of the
Pennsylvania grand jury report on sexual abuse of minors in that state, Zarama called the revelations "sad" and "shameful". He voiced his support for the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' goals to investigate, report, and resolve recent accounts of sexual abuse and for the Catholic Church to do so with higher level involvement of the laity. He asked for Catholics to continue to pray for all victims of abuse, stating that they are the Church's priority. On March 12, 2020, Zarama waived the obligation to attend
Sunday mass during the
COVID-19 pandemic. On March 14, 2020, Zarama cancelled all weekend masses until further notice and directed all Catholic schools in the diocese to comply with North Carolina Governor
Roy Cooper's executive order to close all schools in North Carolina for a minimum of two weeks. On March 16, Zarama officially suspended all masses. In October 2021, Zarama responded to the apostolic letter
Traditionis custodes, regarding
continued use of the Tridentine Mass (or Latin mass), that was issued by Francis. Zarama reduced the number of Latin masses being celebrated and allowed them only on Sunday afternoons == Viewpoints ==