The Archdiocese of Mercedes-Luján ( es, Arquidiócesis Mercedes-Luján; la, Archidioecesis Mercedensis-Luianensis) is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Jo ...

ecclesiastical territory or

archdiocese 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 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 ...

in north-central Buenos Aires Province,

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, t ...

. It was immediately subject to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

, coming into 2019. Erected as the Diocese of Mercedes on 20 April 1934, it was renamed as the Diocese of Mercedes-Luján on 10 May 1989 and elevated to its status as an archdiocese on 21 November 1997. Its

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metr ...

is the Catedral Basílica de Mercedes-Luján in Mercedes. On 4 March 2019,

Pope Francis 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. ...

raised it to a

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a ty ...

archdiocese, with three suffragan dioceses within its

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sev ...

. The suffragan dioceses are Merlo-Moreno,

Nueve de Julio ''Nueve de Julio'' (or ''9 de Julio'') means July 9 in Spanish. It may refer to: * The date of the Argentine Declaration of Independence * One of the following cities and towns in Argentina: ** Nueve de Julio, Buenos Aires Province ** Nueve de Jul ...

, and Zárate-Campana. The first had been in the Buenos Aires province, and the other two were in the La Plata province. Francis also appointed the first metropolitan archbishop, Jorge Eduardo Scheinig, who had been

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox a ...

of Ita.

Bishops

Ordinaries

* Juan Pascual Chimento (1934–1938), appointed Archbishop of La Plata * Anunciado Serafini (1939–1963) *

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, 193 ...

(1963–1981) * Emilio Ogñénovich (1982–2000) *

Rubén Héctor di Monte Rubén Héctor Di Monte (12 April 1932 – 18 April 2016) was a Roman Catholic 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 ...

(2000–2007) * Agustín Roberto Radrizzani, SDB (2007–2019) * Jorge Eduardo Scheinig (2019–present)

Auxiliary bishops

* Vicente Alfredo Aducci (1960–1962) * Herberto Celso Angelo (1990–1993) * Oscar Domingo Sarlinga (2003–2006), appointed Bishop of Zárate-Campana * Jorge Eduardo Scheinig (2017–2019), appointed Archbishop here

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

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 ...

, appointed Bishop of Nueve de Julio in 1962; future Cardinal *

Eduardo Francisco Pironio Eduardo Francisco Pironio (3 December 1920 – 5 February 1998) was an Argentine Roman Catholic cardinal who served in numerous departments of the Roman Curia from 1975 to 1996. He was named Cardinal-Bishop of Sabina-Poggio in 1995. On 30 Ju ...

, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of La Plata in 1964; future Cardinal

Territory

The archdiocese serves fifteen partidos in Buenos Aires Province: *

Alberti Partido Alberti is a northern central partido of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, at coordinates Alberti is located at the south of the Gran Buenos Aires urban area. It has an area of and 10,322 inhabitants (). Economy The economy of Alberti is d ...

* Carmen de Areco Partido * Chacabuco Partido * Chivilcoy Partido *

General Las Heras Partido General Las Heras Partido is a small partido in the northeast of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. The provincial subdivision has a population of about 13,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is General Las Heras, which is fr ...

General Rodríguez Partido General Rodríguez is a western partido of Buenos Aires Province, in Argentina. It is a district on the far western outskirts of Greater Buenos Aires. Name The partido and its capital are named after Martín Rodríguez, a hero of the defense o ...

* Junín Partido *

Leandro N. Alem Partido Leandro N. Alem Partido is a partido in the north of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. The provincial subdivision has a population of about 16,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is Vedia, which is from Buenos Aires. Name T ...

Lobos Partido Lobos Partido is a partido of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. The provincial subdivision has a population of about 33,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is Lobos, from Buenos Aires. Attractions *Lobos Aeroclub *Lobos M ...

* Luján Partido * Marcos Paz Partido *

Mercedes Partido Mercedes Partido is a partido in the eastern part of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. The provincial subdivision has a population of about 62,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is Mercedes, from Buenos Aires. Settlements ...

* Navarro Partido * San Andrés de Giles Partido * Suipacha Partido

References

External links

Archdiocese of Mercedes-Luján
Roman Catholic dioceses in Argentina Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Mercedes-Luján Christian organizations established in 1934 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century 1934 establishments in Argentina {{Argentina-RC-diocese-stub