The Rector of the Convitto Internazionale San Tommaso d’Aquino has passed away in Rome. His remains will be transferred to Colombia.
On Monday, June 23, 2025, Fr. Orlando Rueda Acevedo, OP, returned to the Father’s house. The Rector of the Convitto Internazionale San Tommaso d’Aquino died in Rome, and his remains will be transferred to Colombia, his home country.
On the morning of Wednesday, June 25, a Requiem Mass was celebrated in his memory at the Church of Saints Dominic and Sixtus at the Angelicum in Rome. The Mass was presided over by the Master of the Order, Fr. Gerard Francisco Timoner, OP, and attended by Dominican communities in Rome, including members of the Convitto, Santa Sabina, and the Angelicum, as well as many priests, religious men and women, and friends of Fr. Orlando—particularly Dominican sisters he accompanied in retreats and chapters.
The Master of the Order began his homily by thanking the Lord “for the gift of life, especially the gift of Dominican religious life and priestly ministry that He gave” to Fr. Orlando. He described him as “a very kind friar who hid his suffering so others wouldn’t worry” and “a man who loved and cared deeply for those entrusted to him.” Fr. Gerard also emphasized that he “had a keen sense of beauty” and “a strong devotion to Saint Dominic.”
“There were very few things in his room, except for images and statues of Saint Dominic from around the world. He composed songs for Saint Dominic that I often hear in Spanish-speaking countries, such as Domingo, tu voz en Américaand many others. In the song Bajo los pies de mis Frailes, the lyrics feel like a message for any Dominican like Orlando,” the Master said. After reading the lyrics, he added: “This is Orlando’s song to Saint Dominic. And Orlando’s voice will continue to echo from the lips of those who sing his songs.”
A son of the Province of Saint Louis Bertrand of Colombia, Fr. Orlando Rueda Acevedo, OP, was appointed Rector of the Convitto Internazionale San Tommaso d’Aquino by Fr. Gerard Timoner, OP, on November 27, 2020, after completing six years as Socius for Apostolic Life, a role he had been assigned by then Master of the Order, Fr. Bruno Cadoré, OP, on November 24, 2014.
Born in 1960 in Zapatoca, Santander, Colombia, he entered the Order in 1983, studied Philosophy and Theology at the Universidad Santo Tomás in Bogotá, and was ordained a priest in 1990. He served as prior in several convents: Santo Domingo in Bogotá (1992), San José in Bogotá (1999), Santísimo Nombre de Jesús in Cali (2005), and Cristo Rey in Bucaramanga (2009). He was novice master for Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela (1994–1998), Rector of the Universidad Santo Tomás in Bucaramanga (2007–2010), and of Colegio Lacordaire in Cali (2003–2007). He was also secretary general of the General Chapter of Bogotá (2007) and Prior Provincial of the Province of Colombia (2010–2014).
