Pimiento Rodríguez was born in Zapatoca to Agustín Pimiento Lizarazo and Salomé Rodríguez Castillo. He was baptized on 4 March 1919.[1] He was ordained a priest on 14 December 1941, fulfilling his dream despite his family's economic hardship. Pimiento served as coadjutor vicar in parishes in Mogotes, as well as in the cathedrals of San Gil and Vélez.[2]
His final appointment was on 22 May 1975, as Archbishop of Manizales, where he emphasised the implementation of Council decrees, such as in the pastoral care of family and youth, as well as updating the process of priestly formation in the archdiocese, including by restructuring the minor seminary to become the archdiocesan major seminary.[2] Pimiento also oversaw the restoration of the cathedral of Manizales's bell towers, which were damaged in an earthquake in 1979.[2] After the Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupted in 1985, he helped shelter hundreds of people fleeing other cities in the region.[2] He retired on 15 October 1996 and later resumed work as a parish priest.[3]
Pimiento Rodríguez died from heart failure during the afternoon on 3 September 2019 at a retreat house in Floridablanca, near Bucaramanga. He had recently been hospitalized after a fall and released.[9] At the time of his death he had been the oldest member of the College of Cardinals since the death of Loris Francesco Capovilla in 2016.[5]
