The Most Famous
RELIGIOUS FIGURES from Argentina
This page contains a list of the greatest Argentinean Religious Figures. The pantheon dataset contains 2,238 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 9
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the 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.
1. Pope Francis (1936 - )
With an HPI of 89.75, Pope Francis is the most famous Argentinean Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 155 different languages on wikipedia.
Pope Francis (Latin: Franciscus; Italian: Francesco; Spanish: Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936) is the Pope and head of the Catholic Church, the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State. He is the first pope to be a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), the first one from the Americas, the first one from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first one 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 as a young man before training to be a chemist and working as a technician in a food science laboratory. After recovering from a severe illness 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 credited with 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 permitted the blessings of same-sex couples, so long as the blessing does not resemble a marriage. 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, 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.
2. Leonardo Sandri (1943 - )
With an HPI of 57.12, Leonardo Sandri is the 2nd most famous Argentinean Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 23 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 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.
3. Mario Aurelio Poli (1947 - )
With an HPI of 52.96, 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.
4. Estanislao Esteban Karlic (1926 - )
With an HPI of 52.33, Estanislao Esteban Karlic is the 4th 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.
5. Jorge María Mejía (1923 - 2014)
With an HPI of 51.58, Jorge María Mejía is the 5th 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).
6. Antonio Caggiano (1889 - 1979)
With an HPI of 51.18, Antonio Caggiano is the 6th 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.
7. Juan Carlos Aramburu (1912 - 2004)
With an HPI of 50.00, Juan Carlos Aramburu is the 7th most famous Argentinean Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 18 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.
8. Luis Héctor Villalba (1934 - )
With an HPI of 49.25, Luis Héctor Villalba is the 8th most famous Argentinean Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 17 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.
9. Raúl Francisco Primatesta (1919 - 2006)
With an HPI of 45.73, Raúl Francisco Primatesta is the 9th most famous Argentinean Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Raúl Francisco Primatesta (April 14, 1919 – May 1, 2006) was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church of Argentina, and Archbishop Emeritus of Córdoba.
Pantheon has 9 people classified as religious figures born between 1889 and 1947. Of these 9, 5 (55.56%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living religious figures include Pope Francis, Leonardo Sandri, and Mario Aurelio Poli. The most famous deceased religious figures include Jorge María Mejía, Antonio Caggiano, and Juan Carlos Aramburu. As of April 2022, 1 new religious figures have been added to Pantheon including Raúl Francisco Primatesta.
Living Religious Figures
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Pope Francis
1936 - Present
HPI: 89.75
Leonardo Sandri
1943 - Present
HPI: 57.12
Mario Aurelio Poli
1947 - Present
HPI: 52.96
Estanislao Esteban Karlic
1926 - Present
HPI: 52.33
Luis Héctor Villalba
1934 - Present
HPI: 49.25
Deceased Religious Figures
Go to all RankingsJorge María Mejía
1923 - 2014
HPI: 51.58
Antonio Caggiano
1889 - 1979
HPI: 51.18
Juan Carlos Aramburu
1912 - 2004
HPI: 50.00
Raúl Francisco Primatesta
1919 - 2006
HPI: 45.73
Newly Added Religious Figures (2022)
Go to all RankingsWhich Religious Figures were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 4 most globally memorable Religious Figures since 1700.
