Jorge Novak, SVD, (4 March 1928 - 9 July 2001) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

religious priest of the

Society of the Divine Word The Society of the Divine Word (), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men. As of 2020, i ...

who served as the Bishop of Quilmes from 1976 until his death. He is best known for his staunch defense of

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

and critical statements regarding the position of the Church during the period of the Argentine dictatorship during the 1970s. He was also known for his promotion of proper economic management when the nation's economic fortunes dwindled and promoted jobs and strong action for the poor and neglected. The cause for Novak's beatification started on 19 August 2017; he is titled now as a

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

Life

Jorge Novak was born on 4 March 1928 to Jorge Novak and Christina Prediger; he was of

Volga German The Volga Germans (, ; ) are ethnic Germans who settled and historically lived along the Volga River in the region of southeastern European Russia around Saratov and close to Ukraine nearer to the south. Recruited as immigrants to Russia in th ...

descent. He had seven brothers. Novak entered the

Divine Word Missionaries The Society of the Divine Word (), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men. As of 2020, i ...

and made his initial profession on 1 March 1947 and on 1 March 1953 made his solemn profession into the order. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood in 1954 in

Bahía Blanca Bahía Blanca (; English: ''White Bay''), colloquially referred to by its own local inhabitants as simply Bahía, is a city in the Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires province of Argentina, centered on the northwestern end of the eponymous Blanc ...

and in 1958 obtained a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in historical sciences from the Pontifical Gregorian in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. In 1972 he became the provincial superior for the order and held that appointment until his elevation to the episcopate.

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

later created the Quilmes diocese through the

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

''Cups Regimini'' on 2 August 1976 and appointed Novak as its first bishop on 7 August. Novak received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

on 19 September from

Pio Laghi Pio Laghi (21 May 1922 – 10 January 2009) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. His service was primarily in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and the Roman Curia. He served as Apostolic nuncio to several countries and as the ...

in the new diocese's Immaculate Conception cathedral. There was initial apprehension surrounding his episcopal appointment due to strong rumors of his authoritative professorship in

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...

. Novak railed against

human rights abuses Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

and criticized the dictatorship and the guerillas for their violence and carnage during the period of civil unrest and conflict. He pleaded for proper negotiations and peace in 1982 during the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

. It was after the disappearances of 30,000 people became public that he served as a sort of 'spokesman' for their next of kin asking for investigations and closure for the families of those lost. He co-founded the Ecumenical Movement for Human Rights alongside several others in February 1976. In September 1984 he was on a trip in

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

when he was struck with Guillain-Barré and was recuperating to recover his

motor skills A motor skill is a function that involves specific movements of the body's muscles to perform a certain task. These tasks could include walking, running, or riding a bike. In order to perform this skill, the body's nervous system, muscles, and b ...

until 1985. Towards the end of his life he wrote to the government demanding greater action for the poor and often used strong language in order to force the point across. He was also seen leading demonstrations for jobs and organized

soup kitchens A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center is a place where food is offered to hungry and homeless people, usually for no cost, or sometimes at a below-market price (such as coin donations). Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, ...

in shanties around urban centers. In 2000 he encouraged one of his priests and the prominent social worker Luis Farinello to go into politics to run for a Senate seat in the October congressional elections. Novak issued a decree that authorized Farinello to pursue politics but removed him from all ecclesial responsibilities from his public announcement of his candidature and for the duration of his mandate if elected. The decree cited canon 904 of

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

which allowed Farinello to "celebrate Mass without the attendance of faithful" and exhorted Farinello to adhere to the values of the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

and the social teachings of the Church. On 28 April 1995 he issued a statement asking for forgiveness for the failure of the Argentine priesthood and episcopate to act during the 1970s when people were disappearing and being killed. Novak pleaded for forgiveness "for our insensitivities" while also referring to their collective "cowardice" and "omissions" which he affirmed made them complicit in the actions of the dictatorship. Back in 1991 he was a sharp critic of President

Carlos Saul Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) served as the 50th president of Argentina for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. He identified as Peronist, serving as President of the Justicialist Party for 13 years (from 1990 to 2001 and agai ...

for his decision to

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

Jorge Videla Jorge Rafael Videla ( ; ; 2 August 1925 – 17 May 2013) was an Argentine military officer and the ''de facto'' President of Argentina from 1976 to 1981, during the National Reorganization Process. His rule, which was during the time of Operati ...

and other jailed leaders of the dictatorship and referred to the pardon as a "humiliating defeat" for those who suffered during the dictatorship. In June 2001 he gave his last sermon and discussed the growing

economic crisis A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and ma ...

in which he asked: "How is it possible that in this day and age there are still people who die from hunger, condemned to illiteracy, and without a roof over their heads?" Novak had an operation for

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...

(the disease he kept a close secret) and later died from it at 4:00am on 9 July 2001. Twelve bishops attended his funeral as did the

apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

(later

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

)

Santos Abril y Castelló Santos Abril y Castelló (born 21 September 1935) is a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church. After a career in the diplomatic corps of the Holy See, he held a number of positions in the Roman Curia and from 2011 to 2016 was Archpriest of the ...

; the people shouted "Viva el Padre Jorge" and "Viva Monsignor Novak" as his casket was carried out of the church.

Beatification process

The cause commenced on 19 August 2017 after the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...

declared "

nihil obstat (Latin for 'nothing hinders' or 'nothing stands in the way') is a phrase traditionally used by Catholic Church authorities to formally declare that there is no objection to the publication of a book. It also has other uses. Publishing The ...

" (no objections) and titled Novak as a

. The diocesan process is set to open on 11 December 2017. From 24 June 2016 the

postulator A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Observed i ...

of the cause is the current Archbishop of Mendoza Marcelo Daniel Colombo.

References

External links

Hagiography Circle

{{DEFAULTSORT:Novak, Jorge 1928 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Argentina 20th-century venerated Christians 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Argentina 21st-century venerated Christians Argentine human rights activists Argentine people of Volga German descent Deaths from stomach cancer in Argentina Divine Word Missionaries Order People from Buenos Aires Province Argentine Servants of God Roman Catholic bishops of Quilmes