Patagonia, Argentina is mission country

The Church in Patagonia, Argentina faces great challenges, including vast distances and a lack of resources. One of the bishops overseeing Church development there is Mgr. Roberto Álvarez, who spoke with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) about his dreams and difficulties.

Bishop Roberto Álvarez has shouldered multiple responsibilities since October of 2023, when he was appointed head of the newly created Diocese of Rawson, as well as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Comodoro Rivadavia, both in Patagonia. On February 17th, he is set to be installed as the Bishop of Rawson. “The Patagonian Church is special and very different from the rest of Argentina. For example, we are a land of evangelization, a mission country. This region does not have deep Christian roots. In that sense, we are more like Uruguay,” Bishop Álvarez explains, adding that the province of Chubut, where Rawson is located, has historically been characterized by strong migration.  “This area used to be inhabited by Mapuches-Tehuelches, but in the 19th century, it was settled by Welsh immigrants. Nowadays, we get people from Bolivia and Paraguay, which gives it a unique cultural and religious diversity compared to the rest of Argentina. There is also a large Protestant presence here, which is also not common in other parts of the country,” he says.

One diocese, 40,000 miles
Perhaps the greatest challenge is the distance between communities. The new diocese covers about 40,000 square miles, an area larger than Austria or Portugal. The reality the bishop describes can require extreme sacrifice. “There are no trains here, and hardly any flights, so we use the car to get around. For Mass in some of the rural areas, we travel 250 miles round trip.”

To attend the Patagonia-wide pastoral meeting, some participant shave to drive more than 900 miles. “But they do it, and with great joy, because they know how important these gatherings are for the future of evangelization. Sometimes we can count more on the people in Patagonia than in other places I’ve worked, where distances were much shorter,” the bishop comments. At the end of January, he drove 500 miles to attend the bi-national peace and fraternity meeting between Chile and Argentina, which takes place at the border crossing in the Chubut province.

Given the circumstances, Bishop Álvarez highlights the importance of clergy formation. He has 12 priests in the Diocese of Rawson; only six are Argentinian, and three are from Patagonia. “I only have a handful of priests, which means that the laypeople are called to truly fulfill their baptismal mission. We really need them. Because of the enormous distances, we need to care for our priests and accompany them. This year, we had the first meeting for young clergy, and they were really happy.”

Financial challenges
Another challenge Bishop Álvarez must deal with is a lack of resources, which has become more serious over the past ten years. “When you don’t have anything, you don’t have any personal concerns. All I worry about is the economic upkeep of my pastoral agents in the diocese,” he says. “Look, I have just finished ironing my clothes. I don’t have my own house. I wash, I iron, I do everything. I live off the charity of my priests, who provide me with a bed and food. There is always a priest who will give you a pillow in his parish,” the bishop says. “Despite the economic and geographical difficulties, I am very happy.”

But these problems do make it hard to sustain the new diocese. For the priests, a simple trip can have considerable costs, sometimes equivalent to a full month of parish income. “This is why the help you give me for training courses and Mass stipends is so important. Without the help of ACN, it would be impossible to cover all the fuel costs for our pastoral work,” Bishop Álvarez says.

ACN also helps to support the sisters of Saint John the Baptist, a Mexican religious community that does extraordinary work in a 100 square-mile radius, which includes parts of the new diocese, such as Las Plumas, Dique Ameghino, and Escorial. In this region, where the roads are little more than rocks and sand, the sisters carry out pastoral and social work to benefit the poorest families, bringing them the consolation of God, as well as food and medicine. “They live in great austerity, enduring temperatures as low as 15 degrees. They have permission to conduct baptisms and weddings because the closest priest is several hours away. The help they get from ACN is also indispensable. Without it, they would not be able to cover their expenses,” Bishop Álvarez says with gratitude.

—Maria Lozano