Luis Armando Bambarén Gastelumendi, SJ (14 January 1928 – 19 March 2021) was a

Peruvian Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century; Peruvian p ...

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 lette ...

Bishop of Chimbote from 1967 till his retirement in 2004 and former president of the

Peruvian Episcopal Conference The Peruvian Episcopal Conference ( es, Conferencia Episcopal Peruana) is an episcopal conference of the Roman Catholic Church of Peru that gathers the bishops of the country in order to discuss pastoral issues and in general all matters that have ...

Early life

He was born on January 14, 1928, in the

Ancash Ancash ( qu, Anqash; es, Áncash ) is a department and region in northern Peru. It is bordered by the departments of La Libertad on the north, Huánuco and Pasco on the east, Lima on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its capital i ...

city of Yungay, in a deeply Catholic home made up of his parents Alfredo and Luisa. Bambarén was the fifth of eight siblings, two of whom were also religious. He completed his primary studies in his hometown, and secondary at the Colegio de la Inmaculada in Lima. Bambarén began his religious life in the Jesuit novitiate on April 20, 1944, following studies of letters until he left for Spain in 1949 to study

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

. Then he practiced teaching in Lima from 1952 to 1955, continuing his studies at the Faculty of

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

of Granada in Spain.

Priesthood

Bambarén was ordained a priest of the Catholic Church in the city of Madrid on July 15, 1958, and his first mass coincided with the feast of the

Virgen del Carmen Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order, particularly within the Catholic Church. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Car ...

, on July 16 of the same year. He completed his priestly training in Mexico and Colombia between 1959 and 1961. Upon his return to Peru he taught, being deputy director of the Colegio de la Inmaculada de Lima between 1961 and 1964, then he was appointed rector of the Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola de Piura in 1965, where he founded the Loyola Institute of Agricultural Mechanics and Industry.

Episcopate

On January 7, 1968, Bambarén received the episcopal consecration as Titular Bishop of Sertei and Auxiliary Bishop of Lima from the then Cardinal

Juan Landázuri Ricketts Juan Landázuri Ricketts (December 19, 1913, Arequipa, Peru – January 16, 1997, Lima, Peru) was one of the most prominent Roman Catholic Churchmen during the 1960s and 1970s in Latin America. This was a period in which the Church took a strong ...

in the San Martín de Porres parish. He immediately surrendered to the defense of poor people, and the area where they live he called Pueblo Joven. In 1970, due to the earthquake that destroyed a large part of the department of Ancash on May 31, he was appointed a member of the committee for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the affected areas. In May 1971, Bambarén boldly defended the right to housing of thousands of land occupants in Pamplona, in Lima, who after sustaining a confrontation with the Civil Guard and Police on May 4, they were relocated to sandy deserts in the south of the city on May 16, giving birth to the current District of

Villa El Salvador Villa El Salvador (VES) is an urban, largely residential coastal district on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. It borders the district of Chorrillos on the east; the Pacific Ocean on the southwest; Lurín on the southeast; Villa María del Triunfo on ...

; his support for these settlers led to their arrest, which was publicly rectified by the head of the military government junta, General

Juan Velasco Alvarado Juan Francisco Velasco Alvarado (June 16, 1910 – December 24, 1977) was a Peruvian general who served as the President of Peru after a successful coup d'état against Fernando Belaúnde's presidency in 1968. Under his presidency, nationalism ...

, before the citizen protest, proceeding to remove the then

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

, General Armando Artola Azcárate. In addition, Bambarén is recognized by the nickname of "Bishop of the young towns." Appointed Bishop of Chimbote on June 8, 1978, he assumed office on July 25 of the same year. Bambarén served in this bishopric until 2003, the year he turned 75, when he retired. Faced with an imminent institutional crisis, he advised President

Alejandro Toledo Alejandro Celestino Toledo Manrique (; born 28 March 1946) is a Peruvian politician who served President of Peru, from 2001 to 2006. He gained international prominence after leading the opposition against president Alberto Fujimori, who held ...

to recognize his daughter Saraí, a lady from Piura. He presented for their beatification the Polish martyrs killed by the Shining Path: Miguel Tomaszeck, Zbigniew Strzalkowski, priests of the Krakow Province, and Alejandro Dordi, priest of the diocesan clergy of Bergamo.

Peruvian Episcopal Conference

Between 1996 and 1997 Bambarén was Secretary of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference and also President of the Social Communication Commission of the Episcopate (Conamcos). In February 1998 he was elected President, replacing Monsignor

Augusto Vargas Alzamora Augusto Vargas Alzamora S.J. (9 November 1922 – 4 September 2000) was a Cardinal Priest and Archbishop of Lima in the Roman Catholic Church. He joined the Society of Jesus in 1940. He studied at the Jesuit Philosophical Faculty in San Migu ...

, and reelected in 2000. In 2011 he was criticized for referring to homosexuals as "queers", but days later rectified.

Death

Monsignor Bambarén died at the age of 93 during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Peru The COVID-19 pandemic in Peru has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus spread to Peru on 6 March 2020, when a 25-year-old man who had travelled to Spain, France, and the Czech Republic tested positive. On 15 March 20 ...

References

External links

Catholic-Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bambarén Gastelumendi, Luis Armando 1928 births 2021 deaths Peruvian academics 20th-century Peruvian Jesuits Jesuit bishops Grand Crosses of the Order of the Sun of Peru People from Ancash Region Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Peru 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Peru Roman Catholic bishops of Chimbote