The Archdiocese of Mercedes-Luján (; ) is a

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

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 associated ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in north-central

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. It was immediately subject to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

, 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 church, or ...

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

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

raised it to a

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

archdiocese, with three

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandr ...

s within its

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

. The suffragan dioceses are Merlo-Moreno, Nueve de Julio, and Zárate-Campana. The first had been in the

Buenos Aires province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

, 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 an ...

of Ita.

Bishops

Ordinaries

* Juan Pascual Chimento (1934–1938), appointed Archbishop of La Plata * Anunciado Serafini (1939–1963) * Luis Juan Tomé (1963–1981) *

Emilio Ogñénovich Emilio Ogñénovich (January 25, 1923 – January 29, 2011) was the Catholic bishop of the Archdiocese of Mercedes-Luján, Argentina. Ogñénovich was born to a father from Cetinje and a mother "from Zadar or Split"; they both died when he was t ...

(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 the ...

, 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, 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 Catholic prelate who served in numerous departments of the Roman Curia from 1975 to 1996. He was named a cardinal in 1976 and Cardinal-Bishop of Sabina-Poggio in ...

, 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 dom ...

* Carmen de Areco Partido * Chacabuco Partido *

Chivilcoy Partido Chivilcoy Partido is a partido in the northern area of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. The provincial subdivision has a population of about 60,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is Chivilcoy. Settlements *Chivilcoy * Moqueh ...

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 fro ...

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 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 is the city of Junín. Geography Junín occupies an area of , It is bound ...

* Leandro N. Alem Partido *

Lobos Partido Lobos Partido is a partidos of Buenos Aires, 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 * ...

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 ''partido'' in the Argentine province of Buenos Aires. Its capital city is Marcos Paz. Established on 25 October 1878 (provincial law 1244), Marcos Paz is at the eastern border of Greater Buenos Aires with the rest of the provi ...

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 San Andres de Giles Partido is a partido of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. The capital of the partido is San Andrés de Giles, west of Buenos Aires and west of the provincial capital La Plata. The provincial subdivision has a population of ...

* 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