In the early hours of Sunday, June 16, Father’s Day, the Bishop Emeritus of Puerto Iguazú, Mons. Marcelo Martorell (79), died in Salta (Argentina), who asked to be buried in the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in his diocese.
This was indicated by the Diocese of Puerto Iguazú, in a statement, in which they encouraged people to pray for the soul of the deceased prelate: “Let us pray for his eternal rest. May the Lord have him in his glory,” points out the statement diocesan.
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The current Bishop of Puerto Iguazú, Mons. Nicolás Baisi, indicated to AICA that the remains of the deceased prelate were laid to rest in the archbishopric of Salta and that this Monday, June 17, the funeral Mass will be celebrated in that city.
Later, the remains of Bishop Martorell will be transferred to Puerto Iguazú to be buried in the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy, built when the deceased bishop was at the head of that jurisdiction. “It was a sanctuary that he loved very much and he asked to be buried there,” said Bishop Baisi.
In that place there will be a wake from 5:00 p.m. (local time), then there will be a funeral Mass at 8:00 p.m.; and then be buried.
Who was Bishop Marcelo Martorell?
Marcelo Raúl Martorell was born in Salta on May 1, 1945. While studying law in Córdoba he discovered his vocation, after which he entered the diocesan seminary.
Pope Saint Paul VI ordained him a priest in Rome on May 17, 1970. He served in various capacities as parish priest of the Parish Church of the Sacred Eucharistic Heart of Jesus in Córdoba.
On October 3, 2006, he was named second Bishop of the Diocese of Puerto Iguazú, receiving episcopal consecration on December 8 of the same year. His motto was “He loved them to the end.”
“In his episcopal ministry he distinguished himself in the care of Education, strengthening Catholic schools and strengthening relationships with other institutions,” he points out. the diocese.
“At Cáritas, I work especially in the most deprived neighborhoods with solidarity snacks, helping with the self-construction of homes in Iguazú and Monte Carlo, and land regularization,” he adds.
He erected 11 parishes, 2 sanctuaries, 6 perpetual adoration chapels and ordained 26 diocesan priests. In his “fourteen years of ministry he was a tireless preacher of the love of Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist and devotion to the Blessed Virgin,” the diocese text continues.
Pope Francis accepted his resignation from the pastoral government of the diocese, after turning 75, on May 8, 2020.