RELIGIOUS FIGURES from Chile

Top 6

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

1. Laura Vicuña (1891 - 1904)

With an HPI of 55.10, Laura Vicuña is the most famous Chilean Religious Figure.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.

Laura del Carmen Vicuña Pino (5 April 1891 – 22 January 1904) was a Chilean child who was noted for her religious devotion. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1988 as the patron of abuse victims, having herself experienced physical abuse.

2. Jorge Medina (1926 - 2021)

With an HPI of 54.38, Jorge Medina is the 2nd most famous Chilean Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Jorge Arturo Agustín Medina Estévez (Spanish: [ˈxoɾxe meˈðina]; 23 December 1926 – 3 October 2021) was a Chilean prelate of the Catholic Church who held senior positions both in his native country and in the Roman Curia. He was prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 1996 to 2002 and was made a cardinal in 1998. Beginning in 1985 he served as auxiliary bishop and then from 1987 bishop of Rancagua and then bishop of Valparaíso from 1993 to 1996. As Cardinal Protodeacon, the longest serving cardinal of the order of cardinal deacons, he announced the election of Pope Benedict XVI to the world on 19 April 2005.

3. Teresa of the Andes (1900 - 1920)

With an HPI of 52.88, Teresa of the Andes is the 3rd most famous Chilean Religious Figure.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Teresa of Jesus of Los Andes, OCD (Spanish: Teresa de Jesús de Los Andes; born Juana Enriqueta Josefina de Los Sagrados Corazones Fernández Solar; 13 July 1900 – 12 April 1920) was a Chilean nun of the Discalced Carmelites. Fernández Solar was a pious child but had an often unpredictable temperament for she could be prone to anger and being vain but could also demonstrate her charitable and loving nature; she seemed transformed when she decided to become a nun and her character seemed to change for her sole ambition was to dedicate herself to the service of God. However her time in the convent was cut short due to her contracting an aggressive disease that killed her - she knew she would die but was consoled knowing she would be able to make her profession before she died. Her canonization process opened on 23 April 1976 under Pope Paul VI and she became titled as a Servant of God. The confirmation of her life of heroic virtue on 22 March 1986 allowed for her to be titled as Venerable. Solar was beatified on 3 April 1987 in Chile after a miracle attributed to her from her native land cleared her for beatification while another miracle coming from Chile led Pope John Paul II to canonize her as a saint on 21 March 1993 in Saint Peter's Basilica.

4. Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa (b. 1933)

With an HPI of 51.98, Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa is the 4th most famous Chilean Religious Figure.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa (Spanish pronunciation: [fɾanˈsisko xaˈβjeɾ eˈrasuɾis ˈosa]; born 5 September 1933) is a Chilean prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Santiago from 1998 to 2010. He has been a cardinal since 2001 and was a member of Pope Francis' Council of Cardinal Advisers from its creation in 2013 until his departure in 2018.

5. José María Caro Rodríguez (1866 - 1958)

With an HPI of 47.07, José María Caro Rodríguez is the 5th most famous Chilean Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

José María Caro Rodríguez (June 23, 1866 – December 4, 1958) was a Chilean Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Santiago from 1939 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1946 by Pope Pius XII.

6. Raúl Silva Henríquez (1907 - 1999)

With an HPI of 46.46, Raúl Silva Henríquez is the 6th most famous Chilean Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Raúl Silva Henríquez SDB (27 September 1907 – 9 April 1999) was a Chilean prelate of the Catholic Church, a cardinal from 1962. He served as Archbishop of Santiago de Chile from 1961 to 1983 and as Bishop of Valparaíso from 1959 to 1961. Both as Archbishop and in retirement, he was an advocate for social justice and democracy and a forthright vocal critic of the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet—"a constant thorn in the Government's side".