Coadjutor bishop
Pope Pius XII appointed him titular bishop of Arado and Auxiliary Bishop of the diocese of Maracaibo on 2 August 1956. He was consecrated exactly a month later by the Nuncio to Venezuela. He was appointed as Apostolic administrator of the see of Maracaibo on 23 October 1957. He was transferred to the see of Maracay in 1958. He was transferred to the see of Valencia en Venezuela in 1962. As a bishop he attended the Second Vatican Council. Pope Paul VI appointed him as Titular Archbishop of Voncaria and Coadjutor bishop of Caracas on 16 September 1972. He was elected Vice-President of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference. He succeeded to the metropolitan see of Caracas on 24 May 1980.