The Archdiocese of Buenos Aires (''Archidioecesis Bonaerensis'') is one of thirteen Latin Metropolitan

archdioceses In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

of the Catholic Church in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, South America. The Archbishopric of Buenos Aires is the

Primatial see Primate () is a title or rank bestowed on some important archbishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority ( title of authority) or (usually) ceremonial precedence (t ...

(protocollary first-rank) of Argentina, although the incumbent Metropolitan may be outranked by Cardinals or more senior ones. On 13 March 2013, then-Archbishop Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as Pope, under the name of Francis. The current archbishop, since 28 March 2013, is

Mario Aurelio Poli Mario Aurelio Poli (; born 29 November 1947) is an Argentine prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires since April 2013. He previously served as the Bishop of Santa Rosa from 2008 to 2013. Pope Francis, h ...

, appointed by Pope Francis to succeed him as Archbishop of Buenos Aires.

Statistics and extent

At the beginning of the twentieth century,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South Am ...

was the second largest

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

city in the world after Paris. In 2014 the Archdiocese pastorally served 2,721,000 Catholics (91.6% of 2,971,000 total) in an area of 205 km² in 186

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

and 183 missions with 783 priests (456 diocesan, 327 religious), 11 deacons, 1,915 lay religious (477 brothers, 1,438 sisters) and 53 seminarians. It is divided into the four zonal vicaries—Flores, Devoto, Belgrano and Centro—which are further subdivided into 20 deaconates.

Special churches

* Its

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominat ...

mother church is the

Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral ( es, Catedral Metropolitana de Buenos Aires) is the main Catholic church in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located in the city center, overlooking Plaza de Mayo, on the corner of San Martín and Rivadavi ...

, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, in the autonomous city of

, the national capital of

. * It also has the following Minor basilicas, all in the metropolitan Buenos Aires area: Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Buenos Aires, Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Merced, Buenos Aires, Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Piedad, Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar, Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Socorro, Basílica de San Antonio de Padua, Basílica de San Carlos Borromeo y María Auxiliadora, Basílica de San Francisco de Asís, Basílica de San José de Flores, Basílica de San Nicolás de Bari (a National Shrine), Basílica de Santa Rosa de Lima, Basílica del Espíritu Santo, Basílica del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, Buenos Aires and Basílica del Santísimo Sacramento.

Ecclesiastical province

The archdiocese has eleven suffragan sees, of which nine are Latin: *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Avellaneda-Lanús The Latin Rite Catholic Diocese of Avellaneda-Lanús (erected 10 April 1961, as the Diocese of Avellaneda) is in Argentina and is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. It was renamed on 24 April 2001. Bishops Ordinaries * Emilio Antoni ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Gregorio de Laferrere The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gregorio de Laferrere (erected 25 November 2000) is in Argentina and is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. Ordinaries * Juan Horacio Suárez (25 November 2000 − 19 December 2013) * Gabriel Bernardo Ba ...

* Roman Catholic Diocese of Lomas de Zamora * Roman Catholic Diocese of Morón *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilmes The Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilmes is located in the city of Quilmes, capital of Quilmes Partido, in the province of Buenos Aires in Argentina. It was established by Pope Paul VI on 19 June 1976. Bishops Ordinaries * Jorge Novak, S.V.D. (1 ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Isidro The Diocese of San Isidro is an administrative division of the Roman Catholic Church in Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Justo The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Justo is located in the city of San Justo, in the province of Buenos Aires. It was established by Pope Paul VI on 18 July 1969. Bishops Ordinaries * Jorge Carlos Carreras (1969–1982) * Rodolfo Bufano (19 ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Martín Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

* Roman Catholic Diocese of San Miguel It also has two Eastern Catholic suffragans : * Maronite Eparchy of San Charbel of Buenos Aires *

Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Santa María del Patrocinio en Buenos Aires Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * S ...

History

* It was erected on 6 April 1620 as Diocese of Buenos Aires, on territory split off from the then Roman Catholic Diocese of Paraguay. * It lost territories on 14 August 1832 to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of Montevideo (now Metropolitan) and again on 13 June 1859 to establish the Diocese of Paraná (now Metropolitan) * Elevated on 5 March 1866 to Metropolitan Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. * Lost territories again in 1884 to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Patagonia and on February 15, 1897 to establish the then Diocese of La Plata, but gained (back) territories in 1904 from the suppressed above Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Patagonia and on 4 October 1916 from the suppressed Apostolic Prefecture of Southern Patagonia * On 20 April 1934 it lost territory to establish the Diocese of Viedma * It received Papal visits from

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in June 1982 and April 1987.

Bishops

(all Roman Rite)

Episcopal ordinaries

;''Bishops of Buenos Aires'' # Pedro Carranza Salinas, O.Carm. (1620–1632) # Cristóbal de Aresti Martínez de Aguilar,

O.S.B. , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

(1635–1641) # Cristóbal de la Mancha y Velazco, O.P. (1641–1673) # Antonio de Azcona Imberto (1676–1700) # Gabriel de Arregui, O.F.M. (1712–1716), appointed

Bishop of Cuzco The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cusco ( la, Cuschen(sis)) is a Latin Metropolitan archdiocese with see in the city and old Inca imperial capital of Cusco, in Peru.O.SS.T. (1713–1729) # Juan de Arregui, O.F.M. (1730–1736) # José de Peralta Barrionuevo y Rocha Benavídez, O.P. (1738–1746), appointed Bishop of La Paz # Cayetano Marcellano y Agramont (1749–1757), appointed Bishop of Trujillo and later Archbishop of La Plata # José Antonio Basurco y Herrera (1757–1761) # Manuel Antonio de la Torre (1762–1776) # Sebastián Malvar y Pinto, O.F.M. (1777–1783), appointed

Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela The Metropolitan Archdiocese of (Santiago de) Compostela ( la, Archidioecesis Compostellana), is the senior of the five districts in which the Catholic Church divides Galicia in North-western Spain.Bishop of Sigüenza A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

# Benito Lué y Riega (1802–1812) # Mariano Medrano y Cabrera (1829–1851) ;''Archbishops of Buenos Aires'' # Mariano José de Escalada Bustillo y Zeballos (1854–1870) # Federico León Aneiros (1873–1894) # Uladislao Castellano (1895–1900) # Mariano Antonio Espinosa (1900–1923) # José María Bottaro y Hers, O.F.M. (1926–1932) # Cardinal

Santiago Copello Santiago Luis Copello (7 January 1880 – 9 February 1967) was an Argentine Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1932 to 1959, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1935. Copello served as the first ...

(1932–1959), appointed

Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church The Apostolic ChanceryCanon 260, ''Code of Canon Law'' of 1917, translated by Edward N. Peters, Ignatius Press, 2001. ( la, Cancellaria Apostolica; also known as the "Papal" or "Roman Chanc(ell)ery") was a dicastery of the Roman Curia at the ser ...

Fermín Emilio Lafitte Fermín Lafitte (November 2, 1888 – August 8, 1959) was an Argentine Roman Catholic cleric, serving as Archbishop of Córdoba and, briefly, as Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Biography Lafitte was born in Peyrun, Hautes-Pyrénées Department ...

(1959) # Cardinal Antonio Caggiano (1959–1975) # Cardinal

Juan Carlos Aramburu Juan Carlos Aramburu (February 11, 1912 – November 18, 2004) was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 1975 to 1990, and was named to the College of Cardinals by Pope Paul VI in 1976. Biography Aramburu was born in ru ...

(1975–1990) # Cardinal

Antonio Quarracino Antonio Quarracino (8 August 1923 – 28 February 1998) was a Cardinal of the Catholic Church of Argentina and the Archbishop of Buenos Aires between 1990 and 1998. Biography Early life and priesthood Quarracino was born in Pollica, Provi ...

(1990–1998) # Cardinal

Jorge Mario Bergoglio Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

, S.J. (1998–2013), elected Pope Francis # Cardinal

(2013–present)

Coadjutor archbishops

(1958–1959) * Juan Carlos Cardinal Aramburu (1967–1975); future Cardinal *

, S.J. (1997–1998); future Cardinal and Pope Francis

Auxiliary Bishops of Buenos Aires

* Miguel Moises Araoz (1871–1883) * Juan Agustín Boneo (1893–1898), appointed Bishop of Santa Fe * Juan Nepomuceno Terrero y Escalada (1898–1900), appointed Bishop of La Plata * Gregorio Ignazio Romero (1899–1915) * Francisco Alberti (1917–1921), appointed Bishop of La Plata and later Archbishop of La Plata * Miguel de Andrea (1919–1960) * Fortunado Devoto (1927–1941) * Santiago Luis Copello (1928), appointed Archbishop here (Cardinal in 1935) * Antonio Rocca (1936–1975) * Tomás Juan Carlos Solari (1943–1948), appointed Archbishop of La Plata * Manuel Tato (1948–1961), appointed Bishop of Santiago del Estero * Manuel Menéndez (1956–1961), appointed Bishop of San Martín * Guillermo Bolatti (1957–1961), appointed Bishop of Rosario and later Archbishop of Rosario * Victorio Manuel Bonamín,

Salesians , image = File:Stemma big.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , abbreviation = SDB , formation = , founder = John Bosco , founding_location = Valdocco, Turi ...

(S.D.B.) (1960–1975) * Jorge Carlos Carreras (1962–1965), appointed Bishop of San Rafael and later Bishop of San Justo * Oscar Félix Villena (1962–1970), appointed Bishop of San Rafael and later Auxiliary Bishop of Rosario * Ernesto Segura (1962–1972) * Manuel Augusto Cárdenas (1962–1975) * Horacio Alberto Bózzoli (1975–1978), appointed Bishop of San Rafael and later Archbishop of Tucumán * Guillermo Leaden, S.D.B. (1975–1992) * Mario José Serra (1975–2002) * José Manuel Lorenzo (1977–1983), appointed Bishop of San Miguel * Arnaldo Clemente Canale (1977–1990) * Domingo Salvador Castagna (1978–1984), appointed Bishop of San Nicolás de los Arroyos and later Archbishop of Corrientes * Luis Héctor Villalba (1984–1991), appointed Bishop of San Martín and later Archbishop of Tucumán (elevated to

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

in 2015) * Eduardo Mirás (1984–1993), appointed Archbishop of Rosario * Rubén Oscar Frassia (1992–1993), appointed Bishop of San Carlos de Bariloche and later Bishop of Avellaneda *

, S.J. (1992–1997), appointed Coadjutor here; future Cardinal and Pope Francis * Héctor Rubén Aguer (1992–1998), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of La Plata and later Archbishop of La Plata *

Raúl Omar Rossi Raúl Omar Rossi (August 13, 1938 – February 2, 2003) was a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires from 1992 till 2000, when he became bishop of San Martín. Life Born in Gualeguaychú, Rossi w ...

(1992–2000), appointed Bishop of San Martín * José Luis Mollaghan (1993–2000), appointed Bishop of San Miguel and later Archbishop of Rosario * Guillermo Rodríguez Melgarejo (1994–2003), appointed Bishop of San Martín * Horacio Ernesto Benites Astoul (1999–2008) * Jorge Eduardo Lozano (2000–2005), appointed Bishop of Gualeguaychú and later Coadjutor Archbishop and Archbishop of San Juan de Cuyo * Joaquín Mariano Sucunza (2000–present) * José Antonio Gentico (2001–2007) * Eduardo Horacio García (2003–2014), appointed Bishop of San Justo * Raúl Martín (2006–2013) * Óscar Vicente Ojea (2006–2009), appointed Coadjutor and later Bishop of San Isidro * Enrique Eguía Seguí (2008–present) *

Luis Alberto Fernández Alara Luis Alberto Fernández Alara (born October 26, 1946) is a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires from 2009 until 2013, when he became bishop of Rafaela. Life Born in Lomas de Zamora, Fernández Alar ...

(2009–2013), appointed Bishop of Rafaela * Vicente Bokalic Iglic, C.M. (2010–2013), appointed Bishop of Santiago del Estero * Alejandro Daniel Giorgi (2014–present) * Ernesto Giobando, S.J. (2014–present) * Juan Carlos Ares (2014–present) * José María Baliña (2015–present) * Gustavo Oscar Carrara (2017–present)

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

* Nicolás Fasolino, appointed Bishop of Santa Fe in 1932; future Cardinal * Emilio Antonio di Pasquo, appointed Bishop of San Luis in 1946 * Antonio María Aguirre, appointed Bishop of San Isidro in 1957 * Alberto Devoto, appointed Bishop of Goya in 1961 *

Vicente Faustino Zazpe Monsignor Vicente Faustino Zazpe Zarategi (15 February 1920 – 24 January 1984) was an archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church of Argentina. Zazpe (also sometimes spelled ''Zaspe'') was born to Spanish Navarre immigrants in Santa Fe. He attende ...

, appointed Bishop of Rafaela in 1961 *

Carlos Horacio Ponce de Léon Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...

, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Salta in 1962 *

Luis Juan Tomé Luis Juan Tomé (July 19, 1914 - September 25, 1981) was a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of Mercedes from 1963 till his death in 1981. Life Born in Buenos Aires, Tomé was ordained to the priesthood on April 16, 1 ...

, appointed Bishop of Mercedes in 1963 * Carmelo Juan Giaquinta, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Viedma in 1980 *

Jorge María Mejía Jorge María Mejía (31 January 1923 – 9 December 2014) was an Argentine cardinal of the Catholic Church ( Roman Rite). Early life and ordination Mejía was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and ordained to the priesthood for the Metropolitan ...

, appointed titular Bishop in 1986; future Cardinal *

Leonardo Sandri Leonardo Sandri (born 18 November 1943) is an Argentine prelate of the Catholic Church who has been a cardinal since November 2007 and vice dean of the College of Cardinals since January 2020. He was prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern C ...

, appointed titular Archbishop in 1997; future Cardinal * Fernando Carlos Maletti, appointed Bishop of San Carlos de Bariloche in 2001 *

Antonio Marino Antonio Marino (born 9 August 1988) is an Italian footballer who plays as a defender for club Latina. Career Marino started his career with amateur Eccellenza club Folgore Selinunte from Castelvetrano, until he was noticed by Udinese scout an ...

, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of La Plata in 2003 * Eduardo Maria Taussig, appointed Bishop of San Rafael in 2004 * César Daniel Fernández, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Paraná in 2007 *

Luis Mariano Montemayor Luis Mariano Montemayor (born 16 March 1956) is an Argentinian prelate of the Catholic Church who has worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1991. He began to serve in his present position as Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland in Feb ...

, appointed titular Archbishop in 2008 * Ariel Edgardo Torrado Mosconi, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Santiago del Estero in 2008 * Alfredo Horacio Zecca, appointed Archbishop of Tucumán in 2011 *

Fernando Martín Croxatto Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

(priest here, 1986-2000), appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Comodoro Rivadavia in 2014 * Han Lim Moon, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of San Martín in 2014 * Jorge Martín Torres Carbonell, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Lomas de Zamora in 2014 * Alejandro Pablo Benna, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Comodoro Rivadavia in 2017 * Luis Dario Martín, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Santa Rosa in 2019 * Ignacio Damián Medina, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Lomas de Zamora in 2019

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic, with Google map & satellite photo - data for all sections
*
Arzobispado de Buenos Aires
— Website of the Archdiocese. *

— Statistics on the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. {{DEFAULTSORT:Buenos Aires, Roman Catholic Archdiocese Roman Catholic dioceses in Argentina Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Buenos Aires Christianity in Buenos Aires Religious organizations established in 1620 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 17th century