The Bishop of Rawson, the country’s youngest diocese, hopes Leo XIV will help build bridges in a divided society.
Thirty-six hours by bus, more than 2,000 kilometres and one shared desire: to meet Pope Leo XIV. For hundreds of faithful from Argentine Patagonia, taking part in the Pontiff’s visit means embarking on a long journey from one of the country’s largest and least populated regions.
“Distance isolates you, but it also challenges you to encounter others,” says Bishop Roberto Álvarez of Rawson in an interview with the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
In the far south of Argentina, the three dioceses in the Patagonian province of Chubut have organised several buses so that young people, priests and religious can take part in meetings with the Pope in Buenos Aires and Córdoba. According to the bishop, six buses are transporting groups of young people, while another is carrying members of different religious communities, some of which serve particularly remote areas.
“Some participants come from towns located 2,100 or 2,200 kilometres from the cities hosting the celebrations,” Bishop Roberto explains.
“The desire to meet the Successor of Peter, to be strengthened in our faith and encouraged in our mission motivates so many of us to make the journey,” he says.
Beyond the financial and logistical effort involved, the bishop believes the journey itself is already an experience of communion. In a region where vast distances make contact between communities difficult, spending so many hours on the road together helps strengthen bonds and foster a sense of the universal Church.
“Loneliness and distance encourage and inspire us to make the effort to come together,” he says in his conversation with ACN.
A Young Church in Mission Territory
The Diocese of Rawson is the youngest in Argentina. Established in 2023, it is located in a region of great cultural and religious diversity, where Christian tradition is less deeply rooted than in other parts of the country.
Bishop Roberto describes it as a genuine “mission territory”, where distance is not merely a transport challenge but one of the greatest obstacles to maintaining a stable pastoral presence. Priests, religious sisters and catechists must travel hundreds of kilometres to reach small rural communities and Indigenous populations living far from urban centres.
Isolation becomes even more severe during the winter months, when temperatures can fall to minus 20 degrees Celsius. Yet, according to the bishop, Patagonia has learned to respond to these difficulties with a particular commitment to encounter and solidarity.
“People in Patagonia choose to take up the challenge and meet one another,” he says.
“May the Pope Help Us Build Bridges”
Leo XIV’s visit has raised great hopes in Argentina, a country that, according to Bishop Roberto, is experiencing a period of deep internal division.
“A deeply divided country, a country marked by intense internal conflict, a country that has yet to define clearly what kind of national project it wants—one that includes everyone,” the prelate says.
He believes the Pope can help to “disarm words and build bridges”.
The bishop hopes that one lasting result of the visit will be a greater capacity for dialogue. “I would love the Pope’s lasting legacy to be a significant lowering of the temperature in political dialogue,” he says.
He hopes that different groups, despite holding differing visions for the country’s future, will be able to find common ground.
Bishop Roberto believes Leo XIV can make an important contribution in this regard, not least because of his experience in Latin America and his spiritual closeness to the legacy of Pope Francis.
At the same time, he acknowledges the challenges facing the Church in Argentina. Although the number of baptised Catholics remains high, participation in the Church and the daily practice of the faith have declined over recent decades.
Nevertheless, he sees signs of hope, especially among young people who look to the Church as a place where they can develop lasting projects, find meaning in their concerns and channel their desire for justice and service to others.
From Patagonia, Álvarez also has a very specific request for Leo XIV: “If I could say one thing to the Pope, I would ask him not to forget us and to visit Patagonia one day.”
The bishop would also like the Pontiff to encourage the protection of the region’s extraordinary natural wealth, including its glaciers, lakes, seas and biodiversity, which he believes must be preserved.
ACN: Ensuring No Community Is Forgotten
The pontifical foundation supports a permanent mission on the central plateau of Chubut. ACN’s assistance covers essential expenses such as fuel, tyres, food, accommodation and heating. These are particularly important during the winter, when temperatures can fall many degrees below zero. This support helps sustain a pastoral presence that would otherwise be extremely difficult to maintain.
The foundation also supports eight sisters of the Congregation of Saint John the Baptist who serve in Dolavon and Las Plumas. Their ministry includes catechesis, evangelisation and visits to vulnerable families. The assistance helps cover their living and medical expenses.
ACN also supports the local Church’s annual regional gatherings, which bring together around 150 people. These meetings are especially important in a territory where isolation makes community life difficult.
In Rawson, this is precisely the Church’s challenge: to ensure that no community, however remote, is forgotten.