Pope Francis has selected Gustavo Oscar Carrara, auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires, to lead the Archdiocese of La Plata, Argentina, following the unexpected resignation of the previous archbishop in May, which reportedly came after a direct intervention from Pope Francis.
The 51-year-old Carrara, who hails from Buenos Aires, has been a priest since 1998. He was named auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires in 2017.
Carrara will now take leadership of one of the country’s most important archdioceses. La Plata is home to 77 parishes, and some 85% of the population is Catholic.
But the archdiocese is also considered to be a challenging one to govern, with a conservative profile and clergy who are widely accepted to have a pastoral and theological character different from that of Pope Francis.
Carrara’s appointment follows the surprise resignation of the previous archbishop, Gabriel Mestre, after just 10 months in office.
Mestre announced his resignation in May. The announcement was unexpected, as the archbishop was only 55 years old, had been popular with the clergy of his diocese, and enjoyed the apparent trust of Pope Francis.
However, in the letter announcing his resignation, Mestre said he was stepping down at the pope’s request.
He said the pope had summoned him to Rome to discuss his previous assignment in the Diocese of Mar del Plata, which he had led for 6 years, in what many considered to be a successful term.
But local sources say there was a complicated succession fight in the Diocese of Mar del Plata after Mestre left, which led to questions about the involvement of Mestre himself.
Following Mestre’s departure, the Diocese of Mar del Plata saw a series of failed bishop appointments.
Bishop José María Baliña, auxiliary of Buenos Aires, was chosen to lead the diocese in November 2023.
However he resigned less than a month later, before he could be installed as bishop, citing serious health problems, including vision complications that were likely to result in short-term blindness.
Claretian Bishop Gustavo Larrazábal, auxiliary of San Juan de Cuyo, was then announced to head the Diocese of Mar del Plata.
But he was quickly deterred by complaints of harassment and abuse of power between 2007 and 2013 in other dioceses, and he submitted his resignation a few weeks later.
Following these resignations, Auxiliary Bishop Ernesto Giobando, SJ of Buenos Aires, was named apostolic administrator of the Mar del Plata diocese. He promptly opened an investigation into the vicar general of the diocese, Fr. Luis Albóniga, over his short role as diocesan administrator in the period after Mestre left for La Plata.
Albóniga was a close collaborator of Mestre and, according to local media, his preferred candidate to succeed him.
According to local media reports, a group of influential people from the diocese, close to Archbishop Mestre, pushed to have Albóniga named as bishop after Baliña's resignation.
This group is alleged to have been behind the leak of the complaints against Larrazábal, meant to force his resignation and clear the way for Albóniga.
Sources told The Pillar that Pope Francis summoned Mestre to Rome to discuss the situation.
During that conversation, sources said, there was disagreement about Mestre's role in Larrazábal's resignation and the signs of support for Albóniga.
Ultimately, though, Francis asked Mestre to resign from his new position, despite holding it for only a few months.
Carrara will now be tasked with taking over the Archdiocese of La Plata, following the short tenures of both Mestre and the apostolic administrator who has governed the archdiocese since May.
In a Nov. 21 statement, Archbishop Jorge García Cuerva of Buenos Aires praised Carrara’s dedication and promised prayers for his new assignment.
