Enrique Angelelli facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Blessed Enrique Angelelli |
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| Bishop of La Rioja | |
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Angelelli at Mass.
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| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Diocese | La Rioja |
| See | La Rioja |
| Appointed | 3 July 1968 |
| Enthroned | 24 August 1968 |
| Predecessor | Horacio Arturo Gómez Dávila |
| Successor | Bernardo Enrique Witte |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 9 October 1949 |
| Consecration | 12 March 1961 by Ramón José Castellano |
| Rank | Bishop |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Enrique Ángel Angelelli |
| Born | 18 July 1923 Córdoba, Argentina |
| Died | 4 August 1976 (aged 53) Sañogasta, Chilecito, La Rioja, Argentina |
| Previous post |
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| Motto | Para que todos sean uno ("So that all may be one") |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | 17 July |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Title as Saint | Servant of God |
| Beatified | 27 April 2019 La Rioja, Argentina by Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu |
| Attributes |
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Enrique Ángel Angelelli Carletti (born July 17, 1923 – died August 4, 1976) was a bishop in the Catholic Church in Argentina. He was killed during a difficult time in Argentina called the Dirty War. He was known for helping people who were poor and for standing up for what he believed was right.
Angelelli believed in a "Church of the Poor." This idea meant the Church should focus on helping those in need. His work inspired many, including the future Pope Francis. Angelelli was killed shortly after a military government took control of Argentina. This government used violence to stop people who had different political ideas.
In 2015, the process to make him a saint began. In 2018, Pope Francis declared that Angelelli had died as a martyr for his faith. This meant he could be recognized as "Blessed." On April 27, 2019, Angelelli and three friends who also died for their faith were officially declared "Blessed" in La Rioja, Argentina.
Contents
Life of Enrique Angelelli
Early Years
Enrique Angelelli was born in Córdoba, in 1923. His parents, Juan Angelelli and Celina Carletti, were Italian immigrants and very religious Catholics.
When he was 15, Angelelli joined the Seminary of Our Lady of Loretto. There, he studied for nine years. In 1947, he went to Rome, Italy, to continue his studies to become a priest. He became a priest on October 9, 1949. He also earned a degree in Canon law, which is the law of the Church.
Becoming a Priest
Angelelli came back to Córdoba in 1951. He became a vicar at the San José Parish. He also advised the Catholic Workers Youth (JOC), a group that helped young workers.
In 1960, Pope John XXIII made Angelelli an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Cordoba (Argentina). This meant he would help the main bishop. He was officially made a bishop on March 12, 1961. As an auxiliary bishop, Angelelli became more involved in helping labor unions.
By 1963, Angelelli had been helping people in poor areas for 12 years. He started asking for more help for these communities. His strong actions led to his arrest. For a short time in 1965, the Archbishop of Córdoba, Raúl Primatesta, sent him away to work as a chaplain. Angelelli also took part in the Second Vatican Council, which was a very important meeting for the Catholic Church.
Working in La Rioja
On July 11, 1968, Pope Paul VI chose Angelelli to be the bishop of the Diocese of La Rioja. This area is in northwest Argentina. He started his new role on August 24, 1968.
In La Rioja, Angelelli encouraged miners, farm workers, and house workers to form unions. He also helped them create cooperatives. These groups worked together to make things like knitted goods, bricks, and bread. They also tried to get land that was not being used so they could farm it. One cooperative wanted to take over a very large farm, called a latifundio, that had grown by taking over smaller farms. The governor, Carlos Menem, promised to help them get the land.
On June 13, 1973, Angelelli went to Anillaco, the governor's hometown. He was there for a special religious celebration. But a group of angry merchants and landowners, including the governor's brother, stopped him. They forced their way into the church. Angelelli stopped the celebration and left. The group threw stones at him. After this, Governor Menem stopped supporting the cooperative. Angelelli spoke out against these conservative groups. He stopped religious celebrations in his diocese and temporarily banned the Menem family and their supporters from receiving some church services.
Church leaders from other places visited La Rioja to understand the situation. They supported Angelelli and his work with the poor and workers. However, some other church leaders did not agree with Angelelli's actions.
The Dirty War Period
In 1976, Argentina entered a difficult time called the Dirty War. A military government, led by a three-person group called a junta, took power. They closed the country's congress and banned unions. The military started a campaign called "National Reorganization Process." They used violence, including kidnappings, torture, and killings, against people who had different political views.
On February 12, 1976, a vicar from Angelelli's diocese and two social activists were arrested by the military. Angelelli tried to find out where they were. He even spoke to a military commander, who warned him to "be careful."
Angelelli's Death
Angelelli knew he was in danger. People close to him often heard him say, "It's my turn next." On August 4, 1976, Angelelli was driving a truck with Father Arturo Pinto. They were coming back from a Mass held for two priests, Carlos de Dios Murias and Gabriel Longueville, who had been killed recently. Angelelli had notes about their deaths.
Father Pinto said that two cars started following them. Then, in a place called Punta de los Llanos, the cars forced their truck off the road, causing it to flip over. After waking up, Father Pinto saw Angelelli dead on the road. He had serious injuries to the back of his neck. Police and military quickly arrived.
The police report said that Father Pinto had been driving and lost control. They claimed a tire blew out, and Angelelli died when the truck rolled over. At first, judges accepted this story.
However, in 1986, after Argentina became a democracy again, a judge ruled that Angelelli's death was a planned killing. The investigation continued, and in 2014, two military leaders, Menéndez and Luis Estrella, were sentenced to life in prison for his murder.
The Church's View
After Angelelli's death, the Catholic Church at first accepted the car accident story. However, some church members spoke out against it. L'Osservatore Romano, a Vatican newspaper, reported his death as an accident. A cardinal in Buenos Aires, Juan Carlos Aramburu, who often supported the military government, denied it was a crime.
Remembering Angelelli
Many people have honored Angelelli's memory. In 1986, U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy visited La Rioja and paid tribute to him. Later, a writer named Martin Edwin Andersen dedicated a book about human rights to Angelelli.
On August 2, 2006, Argentina's President Néstor Kirchner declared August 4 a national day of mourning. He spoke about religious workers who were victims of state violence.
On the 30th anniversary of Angelelli's death, Jorge Bergoglio, who later became Pope Francis, celebrated Mass in La Rioja. He said that Angelelli "got stones thrown at him because he preached the Gospel, and shed his blood for it." This was the first time the Church officially honored Angelelli and used the word martyr for his death in this way.
Two plaques with Angelelli's name were put up in his honor in 2007. In 2019, before he was declared Blessed, a church leader compared Angelelli to another famous Catholic saint, Oscar Romero, calling Angelelli "Argentina's Romero."
Becoming Blessed
Pope Francis supported the process to make Angelelli a saint. This process officially began on April 21, 2015. He was given the title of Servant of God. On June 8, 2018, Pope Francis approved that Angelelli and three others killed in La Rioja—Carlos Murias, Gabriel Longueville, and Wenceslao Pedernera—were martyred because of their faith.
The ceremony to declare them "Blessed" took place on April 27, 2019, in La Rioja, Argentina.
See also
In Spanish: Enrique Angelelli para niños
- Roman Catholicism in Argentina
