Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rosario

Contents

The Archdiocese of Rosario (Latin: Archidioecesis Rosariensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the southern part of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, with its mother church, the Basilica Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, located in the city of Rosario. Eduardo Eliseo Martín has served as Archbishop since 2014. Sergio Fenoy served as Auxiliary Bishop until he was appointed Bishop of San Miguel on 5 December 2006. The former archbishop Eduardo Mirás served as Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese between 22 December 2005 and 18 March 2006, when José Luis Mollaghan was installed.

The Archdiocese has an area of 13,500 km2 and a population of around 1,700,000, with 121 parishes. Its ecclesiastical province includes the departments of Belgrano, General López, Iriondo, Rosario and San Lorenzo, plus almost the whole departments of Caseros and Constitución. It has two suffragan bishops, corresponding to the dioceses of San Nicolás de los Arroyos and Venado Tuerto.

History

The diocese was created by Pope Pius XI through the bull Nobilis Argentinae Nationis Ecclesia on 20 April 1934, along with nine others, citing a lack of sufficient episcopal sees to attend to the population. The first bishop was Antonio Caggiano, who was elevated to the episcopal dignity specifically for this post; at the time he was the General Counselor of the Argentine Catholic Action.

Rosario was raised to archdiocese by Pope Paul VI on 12 August 1963. On 7 October 1966 (day of the Virgin of the Rosary), the pope named Rosario "City of Mary" and elevated the Cathedral to Basilica.

In July 2020, the president of the Rosario Bar Association filed criminal charges against two Argentine archbiships, including Eduardo Martín of Rosario, for attempting to subvert the proper legal channels by setting up an office to investigate sex abuse charges against clergy.[1] This followed a motu proprio by Pope Francis that called for the establishment of such offices (called Vos estis lux mundi).[2][3] The case was eventually dismissed.[4]

In 2024, the Archbishop of Rosario prohibited a local Catholic faith healer, Leda Bergonzi, from practicing within the diocese. Among other things, he said that only ordained priests had the right to perform the laying on of hands. Known for her unconventional style and allegedly miraculous healing powers, Bergonzi has drawn tens of thousands of followers to gatherings in Rosario.[5][6]

Bishops

Ordinaries

Auxiliary bishops

  • Carlos María Cafferata (1956-1961), appointed Bishop of San Luis
  • Francisco Juan Vénnera (1956-1959), appointed Bishop of San Nicolás de los Arroyos
  • Silvino Martínez (1959-1961), appointed Bishop of San Nicolás de los Arroyos and Rosario
  • Benito Epifanio Rodríguez (1960-1976)
  • Jorge Manuel López (1968-1972), appointed Archbishop here
  • Desiderio Elso Collino (1972), appointed Bishop of Lomas de Zamora
  • Atilano Vidal Núñez (1972-1985), appointed Bishop of Santa Rosa
  • Heraldo Camilo A. Barotto (1973-1983)
  • Oscar Félix Villena (1982-1994)
  • Mario Luis Bautista Maulión (1986-1995), appointed Bishop of San Nicolás de los Arroyos
  • Héctor Sabatino Cardelli (1995-1998), appointed Bishop of Concordia
  • Sergio Alfredo Fenoy, (1999-2006), appointed Bishop of San Miguel
  • Luis Armando Collazuol (1997-2004), appointed Bishop of Concordia

Another priest of this diocese who became bishop

  • Damián Gustavo Nannini, appointed Bishop of San Miguel in 2018

References

  1. 1."Causa penal para arzobispos de Santa Fe y Rosario por reemplazar al Poder Judicial" [Criminal case for archbishops of Sante Fe and Rosario for replacing the judiciary] (in Spanish). 2020-07-27. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  2. 2."Argentine archbishops under attack for establishing abuse reporting offices". Crux. 2020-07-15. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  3. 3."New norms for the whole Church against those who abuse or cover up - Vatican News". www.vaticannews.va. 2019-05-09. Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  4. 4."Desestiman la denuncia presentada contra el arzobispo de Rosario" [Charges filed against the archbishop of Rosario are dismissed]. La Capital (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  5. 5.Vila, Ailén (2024-10-18). "El caso Leda Bergonzi: qué pasó con la sanadora que era un fenómeno de multitudes y terminó expulsada por la Iglesia" [The Leda Bergonzi Case: what happened with the healer that was a phenomenon of multitudes who ended up expelled by the Church]. LA NACION (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  6. 6."Leda insiste con la imposición de manos: "¿Qué culpa tengo, tiene que ver que soy mujer?"" [Leda insists on the laying on of hands: "How am I to blame; does it have to do with me being a woman?"]. La Capital (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-07-08.