Ángel Fernández Artime (born August 21, 1960), is 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 people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Priest of the

Salesians of Don Bosco , image = File:Stemma big.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , abbreviation = SDB , formation = , founder = John Bosco , founding_location = Valdocco, Turi ...

, who was elected by the Salesian General Chapter 27 as the Rector Major of the Salesians on May 24, 2014. With his election, he became the 10th successor of

Don Bosco John Melchior Bosco ( it, Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; pms, Gioann Melchior Bòsch; 16 August 181531 January 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco , was an Italian Catholic priest, educator, writer and saint of the 19th century. While working ...

and the first Spaniard and third non-Italian to become Rector in Salesian history. He was also Provincial Superior of

León, Spain León (; ) is a city and municipality of Spain, capital of the province of León, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León, in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. It has a population of 124,303 (2019), by far the largest munici ...

, Southern

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 List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

and was preparing to take possession of

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

Province when he was elected Rector.José Antonio San Martín (2014). Interview with Isabel Artime – the mother of the Rector Major (Ángel Fernández Artime). Salesians of Don Bosco. Link retrieved on January 28, 2015 from http://www.sdb.org/en/Rector_Major/SB_Messages/Messaggi_BS/Interview_Isabel_Artime_Rector_Major_mother

Life

Ángel Fernández Artime was born in Gozón-Luanco,

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

, in 1960 to a fishing family. In 1970 his family moved to Astudillo, Palencia where he enrolled in boarding school. Three years after he entered the Salesian School of León, he joined the Salesian Order, doing his first religious profession at 18. In 1987 he was ordained a priest at 26 in that same city. Fernández holds a bachelor in

Pastoral Theology Pastoral theology is the branch of practical theology concerned with the application of the study of religion in the context of regular church ministry. This approach to theology seeks to give practical expression to theology. Normally viewed as a ...

, Philosophy and

Pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

of the University of

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

. Following his ordination, he began his ministry as teacher of religion at the Santo Angel Salesian College of

Avilés Avilés (; ) is a town in Asturias, Spain. Avilés is, along with Oviedo and Gijón, one of the main cities in the Principality of Asturias. The town occupies the flattest land in the municipality, partially in a land that belonged to the sea, s ...

(Asturias) and was also director at the Salesian College of

Ourense Ourense (; es, Orense ) is a city and capital of the province of Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path of the Way of St ...

Career

As a member of the Salesian Province of León, Fernandez was member of the Provincial Council and Vice-Provincial. Between 2000 and 2006 he was Superior of that Province. He was selected to team with the organizers of the 26th General Chapter in Rome in 2008. In 2009 he was elected as Provincial for the

South with headquarters in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. After his designation for a new position as Provincial in

, Spain, he was elected by the General Council as the new Rector Major. Fernandez worked with Cardinal

Jorge Mario Bergoglio 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. ...

in Buenos Aires, who later became

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 ...

. As the new superior of his Order, he presided at the opening of the world celebrations of the 200th birthday of Saint John Bosco on January 24, 2014 in Turin.200 anni con don Bosco, via alle celebrazioni
Torino, 24 gennaio 2015. Link retrieved on January 30, 2015

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez Artime, Angel Salesians of Don Bosco 1960 births 20th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests People from Asturias Living people