The Most Famous

RELIGIOUS FIGURES from Argentina

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This page contains a list of the greatest Argentinean Religious Figures. The pantheon dataset contains 3,187 Religious Figures, 9 of which were born in Argentina. This makes Argentina the birth place of the 38th most number of Religious Figures behind Bulgaria, and Lithuania.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Argentinean Religious Figures of all time. This list of famous Argentinean Religious Figures is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Argentinean Religious Figures.

Photo of Pope Francis

1. Pope Francis (b. 1936)

With an HPI of 88.35, Pope Francis is the most famous Argentinean Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 160 different languages on wikipedia.

Pope Francis (Latin: Franciscus; Italian: Francesco; Spanish: Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. He is the first pope to be a member of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), the first from the Americas and the Southern Hemisphere, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century papacy of the Syrian pope Gregory III. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio worked for a time as a bouncer and a janitor before training to be a chemist and working as a technician in a food science laboratory. After recovering from a severe case of pneumonia and cysts, he was inspired to join the Jesuits in 1958. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969, and from 1973 to 1979, was the Jesuit provincial superior in Argentina. He became the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. He led the Argentine Church during the December 2001 riots in Argentina. The administrations of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner considered him to be a political rival. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on 28 February 2013, a papal conclave elected Bergoglio as his successor on 13 March. He chose Francis as his papal name in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi. Throughout his public life, Francis has been noted for his humility, emphasis on God's mercy, international visibility as pope, concern for the poor, and commitment to interreligious dialogue. He is known for having a less formal approach to the papacy than his predecessors, for instance choosing to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse rather than in the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace used by previous popes. Francis has made women full members of dicasteries in the Roman Curia. He maintains that the Catholic Church should be more sympathetic toward members of the LGBT community, and has stated that while blessings of same-sex unions are not permitted, the individuals can be blessed, as long as the blessings are not given in a liturgical context. Francis is a critic of unbridled capitalism, consumerism, and overdevelopment; he has made action on climate change a leading focus of his papacy. Widely interpreted as denouncing the death penalty as intrinsically evil, he has termed it "an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person", "inadmissible", and committed the Church to its abolition, saying that there can be "no going back from this position". In international diplomacy, Francis has criticized the rise of right-wing populism, called for the decriminalization of homosexuality (though still considering same-sex acts as sinful), called for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty, helped to restore full diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, negotiated a deal with China to define how much influence the Communist Party has in appointing Chinese bishops, and has supported the cause of refugees during the European and Central American migrant crises, calling on the Western World to significantly increase immigration levels. In 2022, he apologized for the Church's role in the "cultural genocide" of the Canadian indigenous peoples. On 4 October 2023, Francis convened the beginnings of the Synod on Synodality, described as the culmination of his papacy and the most important event in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council. In October 2024, it was revealed that Pope Francis would be the first sitting pope to publish a memoir, Hope, which is set to be published in January 2025.

Photo of Leonardo Sandri

2. Leonardo Sandri (b. 1943)

With an HPI of 59.42, Leonardo Sandri is the 2nd most famous Argentinean Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Leonardo Sandri (born 18 November 1943) is an Argentine prelate of the Catholic Church who has been a cardinal since November 2007 and vice dean of the College of Cardinals since January 2020. He was prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches from 2007 to 2022. He served in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1974 to 1991 in several overseas assignments, including as a permanent observer of the Holy See before the Organization of American States from 1989 to 1991, and in Rome as Substitute for General Affairs in the Secretariat of State from 1999 to 2007.

Photo of Mario Aurelio Poli

3. Mario Aurelio Poli (b. 1947)

With an HPI of 55.97, Mario Aurelio Poli is the 3rd most famous Argentinean Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Mario Aurelio Poli (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmaɾjo awˈɾeljo ˈpoli]; born 29 November 1947) is an Argentine prelate of the Catholic Church who was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires from 2013 to 2023. He was the Bishop of Santa Rosa from 2008 to 2013 and before that an auxiliary bishop in Buenos Aires from 2002 to 2008. Pope Francis, his predecessor in Buenos Aires, made him a cardinal in 2014.

Photo of Juan Carlos Aramburu

4. Juan Carlos Aramburu (1912 - 2004)

With an HPI of 53.29, Juan Carlos Aramburu is the 4th most famous Argentinean Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Juan Carlos Aramburu (February 11, 1912 – November 18, 2004) was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 1975 to 1990, and was named to the College of Cardinals by Pope Paul VI in 1976.

Photo of Estanislao Esteban Karlic

5. Estanislao Esteban Karlic (b. 1926)

With an HPI of 53.14, Estanislao Esteban Karlic is the 5th most famous Argentinean Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Estanislao Esteban Karlic (born 7 February 1926) is an Argentine cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paraná from 1986 to 2003, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 2007.

Photo of Jorge María Mejía

6. Jorge María Mejía (1923 - 2014)

With an HPI of 53.00, Jorge María Mejía is the 6th most famous Argentinean Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Jorge María Mejía (31 January 1923 – 9 December 2014) was an Argentine cardinal of the Catholic Church (Roman Rite).

Photo of Antonio Caggiano

7. Antonio Caggiano (1889 - 1979)

With an HPI of 52.11, Antonio Caggiano is the 7th most famous Argentinean Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Antonio Caggiano (30 January 1889 – 23 October 1979) was an archbishop and a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in Argentina. He played a part in helping Nazi sympathisers and war criminals escape prosecution in Europe by easing their passage to South America.

Photo of Eduardo Francisco Pironio

8. Eduardo Francisco Pironio (1920 - 1998)

With an HPI of 52.01, Eduardo Francisco Pironio is the 8th most famous Argentinean Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Eduardo Francisco Pironio (3 December 1920 – 5 February 1998) was an Argentine Catholic prelate who served in numerous departments of the Roman Curia from 1975 to 1996. He was named a cardinal in 1976 and Cardinal-Bishop of Sabina-Poggio in 1995. Pironio died in 1998 and on 30 June 2006, the Diocese of Rome began requesting testimonies about his life and sanctity, opening his cause of canonization and bestowing upon him the posthumous title, Servant of God. Pope Francis named him as Venerable on 18 February 2022.

Photo of Víctor Manuel Fernández

9. Víctor Manuel Fernández (b. 1962)

With an HPI of 51.56, Víctor Manuel Fernández is the 9th most famous Argentinean Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Víctor Manuel "Tucho" Fernández (born 18 July 1962) is an Argentine prelate of the Catholic Church and a theologian. He is currently the head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. He served as rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina from December 2009 to April 2018. He was named Archbishop of La Plata on 2 June 2018. On 1 July 2023, Pope Francis named Fernández prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith as of mid-September. Pope Francis made Fernández a cardinal on 30 September 2023.

Photo of Luis Héctor Villalba

10. Luis Héctor Villalba (b. 1934)

With an HPI of 50.76, Luis Héctor Villalba is the 10th most famous Argentinean Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Luis Héctor Villalba (Spanish pronunciation: [lwis ˈeɣtoɾ βiˈʝalβa]; born 11 October 1934) is an Argentine prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who was the Archbishop of Tucumán from 1999 to 2011. He was an auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires from 1984 to 1991 and bishop of San Martin from 1991 to 1999.

People

Pantheon has 12 people classified as Argentinean religious figures born between 1889 and 1962. Of these 12, 7 (58.33%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Argentinean religious figures include Pope Francis, Leonardo Sandri, and Mario Aurelio Poli. The most famous deceased Argentinean religious figures include Juan Carlos Aramburu, Jorge María Mejía, and Antonio Caggiano. As of April 2024, 3 new Argentinean religious figures have been added to Pantheon including Eduardo Francisco Pironio, Víctor Manuel Fernández, and Egypt at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Living Argentinean Religious Figures

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Deceased Argentinean Religious Figures

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Newly Added Argentinean Religious Figures (2024)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Religious Figures were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 5 most globally memorable Religious Figures since 1700.