Holy Father Names New Bishop in Argentina

Bishop Alejandro Pablo Benna to be Bishop of Alto Valle del Río Negro

Holy Father Bishop
Episcopal ordination of Mons. Benna © Diocese Lomas de Zamora

The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Alejandro Pablo Benna, until now titular of Vardimissa, auxiliary of Comodoro Rivadavia and apostolic administrator of Alto Valle del Río Negro, as bishop of Alto Valle del Río Negro, Argentina.

Curriculum vitae

Bishop Benna was born on November 12, 1959, in Buenos Aires. He studied in the archdiocesan seminary of Buenos Aires and was ordained a priest on November 14, 1987.

As a priest he has held the following offices: parish vicar of the parishes of Nuestra Señora de BalvaneraSan Ramón NonatoNuestra Señora de la Anunciación and Santa Ana y San Joaquín; executive director of the Episcopal Vicariate for Youth; supervisor of the Instituto Nacional de Formación en Pastoral de Juventud Cardenal Pironio; member of the San Pedro Ecclesiastical Association, and parish priest of Santa Ana y San Joaquín. In the diocese of Lomas de Zamora he was parish priest of San Francisco de Asís in Llavallol.

On November 28, 2017, he was appointed titular bishop of Vardimissa and auxiliary bishop of Comodoro Rivadavia, receiving episcopal ordination the following December 23.


The Roman Catholic Diocese of Alto Valle del Río Negro (erected 22 July 1993) is in Argentina and is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Bahía Blanca.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bahía Blanca (Archidioecesis Sinus Albi) is a Latin Metropolitan archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church with an ecclesiastical province in the eastern region of the national capital’s province of Buenos Aires, central Argentina.

Its cathedral archiepiscopal see and mother church, located in the city of Bahía Blanca, is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mercy.

Pope Francis on June 30, sent a message to Argentina’s Christian Association of Business Executives (ACDE) on the occasion of its 24th annual meeting on the theme: “Towards a more humane capitalism.”

In his message, send via video, the Holy Father emphasized the important role of transparency in investment and creating employment. He urged the business leaders to “be creative and bold” as they invest in the common good for a better economy.