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 Joh ...

ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese 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, th ...

. 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 metropo ...

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 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 seve ...

. The suffragan dioceses are Merlo-Moreno, Nueve de Julio, 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 ...

of Ita.

Bishops

Ordinaries

Juan Pascual Chimento ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

(1934–1938), appointed Archbishop of La Plata *

Anunciado Serafini Anunciado Serafini (November 16, 1898 – February 18, 1963) was the Roman Catholic bishop of what is now the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mercedes-Luján, Argentina. Ordained to the priesthood on December 20, 1924, Serafini was named Auxiliary B ...

(1939–1963) * Luis Juan Tomé (1963–1981) * Emilio Ogñénovich (1982–2000) * Rubén Héctor di Monte (2000–2007) *

Agustín Roberto Radrizzani Agustín Roberto Radrizzani, SDB (22 September 1944 – 2 September 2020) was an Argentine prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Mercedes-Luján from 2007 until 2019. Radrizzani made his profession as a member of ...

, 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, Prov ...

, appointed Bishop of Nueve de Julio in 1962; future Cardinal * Eduardo Francisco Pironio, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of La Plata in 1964; future Cardinal

Territory

The archdiocese serves fifteen partidos in Buenos Aires Province: * Alberti Partido * 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 Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers ...

Junín Partido Junín Partido is a county ('' partido'') in the . Its population is 88,664 inhabitants () and the population density reaches 39.4 inhabitants/km2. Its administrative seat An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local go ...

* Leandro N. Alem Partido *

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 Luján Partido is a partido in the northeastern part of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. The provincial subdivision has a population of about 94,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is Luján, which is from Buenos Aires ...

Marcos Paz Partido Marcos Paz is a Partidos of Buenos Aires, ''partido'' in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires. Its capital city is Marcos Paz, Buenos Aires, Marcos Paz. Established on 25 October 1878 (provincial l ...

* Mercedes Partido * 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