Santiago del Estero is the Primate See of the Catholic Church in Argentina: Renew call to mission

“An Argentine Church that was born in the deep heart of the Nation, between the Dulce and Salado rivers, among carob trees, quebrachos, chañares and mistoles; and that, along dusty roads, and traveling through mountains, plains and salt flats, it spread throughout the country announcing the Good News of the Gospel throughout the centuries.” This is how Bishop Jorge García Cuerva, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, described the path taken by the Catholic Church in Argentina, which this Saturday, in the figure of the bishops of the entire territory, returned to its starting point, Santiago del Estero, to granting that portion of northern Argentina the title of Primate See and thus recognizing that first announcement of the Gospel, made there in 1570.

The ceremony for the transfer of the Primate See—a title until now held by the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires—took place in the Cathedral Basilica of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, before a crowd of faithful who came to experience this historic moment.

In the words of Pope Francis, this event was a gesture of “historical reparation”because it was in the territory of the current Diocese of Santiago del Estero where a bishop, successor of the apostles, made the first announcement of the Gospel in what would later become Argentine territory.

The celebration was presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio in Argentina, Mons. Miroslaw Adamczyk, who was in charge of reading the pontifical bull where the transfer is decreed. There, the elevation to Archdiocese is determined, which makes the bishop Primate Archbishop. for the timein this case, Mons. Vicente Bokalic.

The decree clarifies that the Archdiocese of Santiago del Estero will continue to be suffragan of the Metropolitan See of Tucumán, since the elevation to the rank of archdiocese does not imply that it becomes metropolitan, as happened in the past with the sister Archdiocese of Mercedes-Luján .

The homily of the Mass was pronounced by the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Mons. Jorge García Cuerva, who also spoke of a “historical and ecclesiastical reparation,” and referred to Santiago del Estero as “mother of cities” and “mother of dioceses.”

Remembering the figure of Santa Mama Antulaborn in the territory of Santiago del Estero, whose canonization was celebrated on February 11, Bishop García Cuerva noted: “Today we are making the return journey, but we want to travel it like her: barefoot and with the crucifix.”

“Barefoot from prejudices and intolerance, barefoot from resentment and selfishness, barefoot from fears and confrontations, barefoot and walking with respect and care because we enter sacred land, this fertile land that gave birth to the Homeland. And with a crucifix, because like Mama Antula, we want to renew ourselves in the announcement of God’s love to all men and women, of a God who loves us so much that he gave his life for us; That is why it is vital that today the Church goes out to announce the Gospel to everyone, in all places, on all occasions, without delay, without disgust and without fear.”

The new Primate Archbishop, Mons. Vicente Bokalic, expressed his gratitude to Pope Francis for this “prophetic gesture”, since it represents the Church’s desire to get closer to the peripheries, moving away from the traditional centers of power and comfort.

In that sense, he valued the Pope’s desire to “recognize our beloved Santiago del Estero: a distant, distant place, well inland as we usually say.”

“The Church also, urged by the example and style of Jesus, constantly feels the call to go out towards the borders, looking at reality not from the centers but from the peripheries, leaving comfortable places, of a certain comfort, of greater opportunities and entering into more remote, unknown and ignored places,” he assured.

Finally, he stressed the call to “be signs of hope in the midst of so much discouragement, fatigue and loss of meaning.”

At the end of the ceremony, the new Archdiocesan Church was entrusted to the protection of the Virgin of Sumampa, patron saint of Santiago del Estero.