The Holy See made public at noon on Saturday, July 1, the appointment of Bishop Victor Manuel Fernandez as successor to Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, S.I., as Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and the International Theological Commission.
Ladaria had concluded the established term of office at the head of this Dicastery. The Pope thanked the Spaniard for his work at the head of this Dicastery, to which he was appointed in July 2017.
Víctor Manuel Fernández will take office next September. Among other things, the Archbishop of La Plata has been rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, Dean of the Faculty of Theology of Buenos Aires, president of the Argentinean Society of Theology and, at present, president of the Faith and Culture Commission of the Argentinean Episcopate. In his priestly work, he was parish priest of "Santa Teresita".
Pope Francis addressed a letter to the new prefect, whom he has known well for decades, in which he asks the new prefect to dedicate his personal commitment "to guarding the faith," and notes that "so as not to limit the significance of this task, it must be added that it is a matter of 'increasing the intelligence and transmission of the faith at the service of evangelization, so that its light may be a criterion for understanding the meaning of existence, especially in the face of the questions raised by the progress of the sciences and the development of society."
The Pope also asked him not to be satisfied with a "desk theology" and stressed the need for "a thought that knows how to present in a convincing way a God who loves, who forgives, who saves, who liberates, who promotes people and calls them to fraternal service".
Biography of Bishop Víctor Manuel Fernández
The hitherto Archbishop of La Plata was born on July 18, 1962 in Alcira Gigena, Province of Córdoba (Argentina). He was ordained priest on August 15, 1986 for the diocese of Villa de la Concepción del Río Cuarto (Argentina).
He obtained a Licentiate in Theology with biblical specialization at the Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome) and later a Doctorate in Theology at the Faculty of Theology of Buenos Aires.
From 1993 to 2000 he was pastor of Santa Teresita in Río Cuarto (Córdoba). He was founder and director of the Institute of Lay Formation and the Jesus Good Shepherd Teacher Training Center in the same city. In his diocese he has also been Formator of Seminaries, Director of Ecumenism and Director of Catechesis.
In 2007, he participated in the V Latin American Episcopal Conference (Aparecida) as a priest representing Argentina and, later, as a member of the drafting group of the final document.
