The Diocese of La Rioja is preparing to celebrate its 90 years
Given the deep religious idiosyncrasy that La Rioja has, a great meeting will be held to reflect and thank the history, memory and evangelizing mission of the Diocese of La Rioja.
“It is also desired to Awaken and Strengthen the Missionary Dimension of the Church and renew the diocesan commitment to it,” the organization indicated, inviting the central party for the 90 years of the Diocese.
It will be in front of the San Nicolás de Bari Cathedral building in the city of La Rioja on Sunday, July 7, starting at 11:00. There, entertainers and musicians will receive the delegations from the different deaneries who will arrive on pilgrimage along with the images of their Virgins and Saints that represent them. At 12:00 Monsignor Braida will preside over the Mass and then in that same place, and in the square in front a basket lunch will be shared. Starting at 2:00 p.m., each of the 5 deaneries will artistically present their history and mission, a space that will be closed by an allegory of the 90 years of the Diocese.
At 5:00 p.m. the procession of San Nicolás will take place along with the images brought from different parts of the Diocese. At the conclusion, Monsignor Braida will give the traditional reflection and then close the meeting with the performance of various music bands.
It should be remembered that the diocese of La Rioja was erected on April 20, 1934 with the bull Nobilis Argentinae nationis of Pope Pius XI. According to the 2023 Pontifical Yearbook, at the end of 2022, it had a total of 344,372 baptized faithful belonging to 32 parishes.
On December 6, 1946, Pope Pius
It is also a Land cared for by the Virgin since the arrival of the Virgin of Tama and guarded by the aforementioned San Nicolás de Bari and by the Child Jesus Alcalde.
The Diocese of La Rioja is faithful to the name of its city of all saints. Popular devotion to the models of the Church fills the celebrations with color and nourishes the faith of the People of God. People who have a deep religiosity and it colors their lives and their actions.
This land of plains and mountains was blessed by its shepherds, San Francisco Solano, Fray Mamerto Esquiú evangelized here, Castro Barros and Sister Leonor Ocampo were born.
A few decades ago, Monsignor Angelelli arrived, a shepherd with the smell of sheep who brought the fresh air of Vatican II and put one ear to the People and the other to the Gospel. He committed himself to his people until he gave his life. Several priests also arrived to this land with an enormous dedication to Jesus and two of them left his blood: Carlos Murias and Gabriel Longueville.
The laity were also clear about the construction of the Kingdom of God and in the figure of the husband and father of the family Wenceslao Pedernera we also have the martyrdom.
The first bishop of La Rioja was Froilán Ferreira Reinafé, elected by Pope Pius XI on September 13, 1934. He died on February 22, 1964.
The second Rioja bishop was Horacio Arturo Gómez Dávila, who on February 13, 1960 had been designated by Pope Pius XII as coadjutor bishop with the right to succession; He took over as diocesan bishop on February 22, 1964, until July 11, 1968, when he resigned for health reasons.
The third bishop of La Rioja was Enrique Angelelli, appointed by Pope Paul VI on July 11, 1968, who took office on the following August 24. Murdered on August 4, 1976, he was beatified by Pope Francis on April 27, 2019 along with three other martyrs: the priests Gabriel Longueville and Carlos de Dios Murias and the layman Wenceslao Pedernera. On August 10, 1976, Pope Paul VI appointed the auxiliary bishop of Córdoba, Cándido Rubiolo, as apostolic administrator.
The fourth bishop of La Rioja was Bernardo Witte, appointed by Pope Paul VI on April 15, 1977; After receiving episcopal ordination on May 20, he took office on the following June 5. On July 8, 1992, Pope John Paul II transferred him as bishop of Concepción, Tucumán.
The fifth bishop of La Rioja was Fabriciano Sigampa, whom Pope John Paul II transferred from the see of Reconquista on December 30, 1992. He took possession on March 25, 1993. On November 17, 2005 he was promoted to archbishop of Endurance; He took possession of that archiepiscopal see on February 26, 2006.
The sixth bishop of La Rioja was Roberto Rodríguez, who, being bishop of Villa María, was transferred to this see on May 24, 2006; He took office on July 23, 2006.
The seventh bishop was Marcelo Colombo, who, being bishop of Nueva Orán, was transferred to this see on July 7, 2013; He took possession on September 7, 2013 and on May 22, 2018 he was named archbishop of Mendoza. The eighth and current bishop of La Rioja is Monsignor Dante Gustavo Braida who took possession on December 28, 2018.
“This diocese looks back and gives thanks for so many holy people, named and anonymous, who have made it a Land of Encounter. This wealth is what encourages us pastors, priests, religious and lay people to continue walking as Angelelli said. There are certainties that the Good Shepherd Jesus cared for and fed us. “That certainty fuels our hope to walk as a synodal Church living the Gospel of Jesus,” they indicated.
Monsignor Braida in the Message of Tinkunaco 2024, regarding the 90 years of the Diocese and opening the Jubilee Year, expressed: We want to make grateful memory of these 90 years, revaluing our history. The Christian faith has been sown in this land for more than 400 years. There will be many celebrations that will bring us together during this Jubilee Year, both in the City and in the interior.
