He replaced Archbishop Emeritus José Martín Rábago, whose resignation was accepted under Canon 401.1 and who had been archbishop since his appointment by Pope John Paul II in 1995. Archbishop Cortés Contreras was born in La Luz in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Zamora on July 16, 1947. He studied philosophy and theology in the Seminary of Monterrey, and subsequently earned a licentiate in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
He became the successor to Archbishop Emeritus José Martín Rábago, whose resignation was accepted under Canon 401.1 and who had been archbishop since his appointment by Pope John Paul II in 1995. Archbishop Cortés Contreras was born on July 16, 1947, in La Luz within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Zamora. He studied philosophy and theology at the Seminary of Monterrey before earning a licentiate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.