The Mother of Cities, Santiago del Estero (Argentina), which owes its name to the apostle, celebrates its 471st anniversary today, a few days after occupying the front page of the national media due to a surprising and historic decision by Pope Francis: move the headquarters from the country—until now in Buenos Aires—to the northern province where in 1570 for the first time a successor of the apostles announced the Gospel.
In this way, Pope Francis made a wish come true that he had already expressed during his time as Archbishop of Buenos Aires.
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In 2008, when Bishop Ariel Torrado Mosconi was ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Santiago del Estero, Cardinal Bergoglio was referring to him as “collaborator of a Bishop, the Bishop of Santiago del Estero, who in justice should be the Primate Diocese of the country, the first Diocese of the country.”
The same wish was expressed by the pontiff on numerous occasions to the current Bishop of Santiago del Estero, Mons. Vicente Bokalic. This is how the prelate remembered this Thursday in a Press conference: “Pope Francis, every time he saw me, told me: remember that you are the Bishop of the Primate Diocese of Santiago del Estero.”
The Holy Father, stated Bishop Bokalic, “has realized the predilection and affection that he has for us, and he took the time to investigate, to do things well, this is not a whim, nor were there other motivations for Basically, simply to historically recognize, to make a historical repair of what Santiago del Estero is.”
It is the second time this year that the province is in the news for an event linked to the Catholic community: last February 11, the Holy Father canonized the first Argentine female saint, Mother Antulaborn in 1730 in Villa Silípica, Santiago del Estero.
This July 25, the feast of Santiago Apóstol, patron saint of the province, the 471st anniversary of the “Mother of Cities” is celebrated, which is why it is a holiday in the province.
According to National University of Santiago del Esteroit is known like this because the expeditions with which Tucumán, Córdoba, Catamarca, La Rioja, Salta and Jujuy were founded departed from that place.
Juliet Villar
I am a journalist, with a degree in communication from the National University of La Matanza in Argentina. I have work experience in non-governmental organizations. Since 2016 I have been dedicated to Catholic journalism, first at the Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA) and, since 2022, as ACI Prensa correspondent for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia.