Corripio y Ahumada was ordained to the priesthood on October 15, 1942. He served as a diocesan priest in his hometown of Tampico for ten years. On December 27, 1952, Pope Pius XII appointed him auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Tampico. On March 19, 1953, he was consecrated titular bishop of Zapara. On February 25, 1956, he became Bishop of the diocese.
Pope Paul VI elevated Corripio y Ahumada on July 25, 1967, to Archbishop of Antequera in the state of Oaxaca. On March 11, 1976, he was transferred to become Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Puebla de los Angeles in the state of Puebla. The Pope transferred Corripio y Ahumada once again on July 19, 1977, to the post of Archbishop of Mexico.
Upon assuming the papal throne, Pope John Paul II appointed Corripio y Ahumada a member of the College of Cardinals. He was a member of various departments of the Roman Curia while serving his archdiocese.
He retired on September 29, 1994, and lost the right to participate in a conclave when he reached 80 in 1999.[1]
He died on April 10, 2008, in his house in La Noria, Xochimilco in Mexico City, after complications related to deep thrombosis in his left arm. He is buried in the crypt of Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral.