AMERICA/PERU - Death of the Bishop Emeritus of Chimbote from Covid-19, known for his continual struggles of the marginalized

Saturday, 20 March 2021 coronavirus   bishops   human rights  

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Lima (Agenzia Fides) - With His Exc. Bishop Luis Armando Bambarén Gastelumendi, SJ, an icon of the Church in Peru, at the service of the poor and the humble disappears. The "Bishop of the suburbs" (pueblos jovenes), as he was affectionately called by his faithful, was hospitalized this week in a clinic in Lima, struck by the coronavirus, and died yesterday, March 19.
Bishop Luis Armando Bambarén Gastelumendi, SJ, Bishop Emeritus of Chimbote and former President of the Episcopal Conference of Peru (CEP), was born on January 14, 1928 in Yungay. He was ordained a priest in Madrid on July 15, 1958.
On January 1, 1968 he received episcopal consecration as auxiliary Bishop of Lima and Titular Bishop of Sertei, from the hands of Cardinal Juan Landázuri Ricketts in the parish of Saint Martín de Porres. Since then, Bishop Bambarén tirelessly dedicated himself to the defense of people with few economic resources, calling the area in which they lived "Pueblo Joven".
He was therefore called the "Bishop de los Pueblos Jovenes" for his continual struggles in defense of the marginalized population.
Pope Paul VI appointed him Bishop of Chimbote on June 8, 1978, he took office on 25 July of that same year.
From 1996 to 1997 he was Secretary of the Episcopal Conference of Peru and also President of the Commission for Social Communications of the Episcopate (Conamcos). In February 1998 he was elected President of the CEP and was re-elected in 2000.
The presence of Mgr. Bambarén in the socio-political life of Peru was a fundamental element in the field of dialogue between the Church and the government in many circumstances, sometimes very complex to manage. He called for the need for dialogue in the face of a social conflict in the mining sector (see Fides, 18/11/2011), he worked to end the violence of groups of miners and the police, causing deaths and injuries (see Fides, 4/7/2012), announced to Peru the beatification of the 3 missionaries killed in 1991 by the terrorists of Sendero Luminoso (see Fides, 4/2/2015) and represented thirty thousand poor people expelled from the occupied lands as part of a dialogue with the authorities (see Fides, 7/10/2016). (CE) (Agenzia Fides, 20/3/2021)


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