Carlos Castillo Mattasoglio

Carlos Gustavo Castillo Mattasoglio (born 28 February 1950) is Peruvian prelate of the Catholic Church whom Pope Francis named Archbishop of Lima on 25 January 2019. From completing his extensive training in theology in 1987 until his episcopal appointment, he devoted himself to both pastoral care and theological education in Peru.


Carlos Castillo Mattasoglio
Archbishop of Lima
Castillo in 2019
ChurchCatholic Church
ArchdioceseLima
Appointed25 January 2019
Installed2 March 2019
PredecessorJuan Luis Cipriani Thorne
Orders
Ordination15 July 1984
by Juan Landázuri Ricketts
Consecration2 March 2019
by Nicola Girasoli
Personal details
Born (1950-02-28) 28 February 1950 (age 74)
EducationColegio San Agustín
Alma mater
Coat of armsCarlos Castillo Mattasoglio's coat of arms

Pope Francis plans to make Mattasoglio a cardinal on 7 December 2024.

Early career

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Carlos Castillo Mattasoglio was born in Lima on 28 February 1950. After attending the Dalton de Lince College and the San Agustín College of Lima, he studied at the National University of San Marcos from 1968 to 1973, earning a bachelor's degree in social sciences.[1] At San Marcos, he joined the National Union of Catholic Students, led by Father Gustavo Gutiérrez, one of the principal voices in the Liberation Theology movement.[2] He continued his studies at the Santo Toribio di Mogrovejo major seminary in Lima. At the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome he earned a bachelor's degrees in philosophy in 1979 and in theology in 1983. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Lima on 15 July 1984[1] by Cardinal Juan Landázuri Ricketts.[3] He obtained a licentiate and a doctorate in dogmatic theology in 1985 and 1987 at the Gregorian.[1]

He returned to Peru in 1987. He was assessor of the National Union of Catholic Students from 1987 to 1998, the vicar of various parishes from 1987 to 1991, and then an associate in parish work from 1991 to 1999, and a vicar again from 1999 to 2015.

He has been a lecturer in Catholic theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru since 1987.[4][5] Castillo, along with every other faculty member at its Theology Department, was suspended by Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne in 2013 amid a conflict between Cipriani and the university administration.[6][7][8] After that, Castillo continued teaching courses in morals and Christian social thought. In 2016, the university's new Great Chancellor Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi renewed the licenses to teach Catholic theology of Castillo and the other faculty.[9][10]

He headed university pastoral care in Lima in the 1990s and held a variety of archdiocesan posts with responsibility for youth and vocational pastoral care from 1996 to 1999. On the national level, he was assessor of the Commission for Youth of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference from 1990 to 2001. He was director of relations with the Church and a member of the University Council of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru from 2003 to 2006.[1]

Archbishop

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Mattasoglio during his installation as Archbishop of Lima on 2 March 2019.

Pope Francis named him to succeed Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne as Archbishop of Lima on 25 January 2019.[1] As Archbishop he is ex officio Grand Chancellor of the Faculty of Civil and Canon Theology of Lima.[11] When named archbishop, he was a lecturer in theology–a position he had held since 1987–and assessor of the Center for University Pastoral Assistance at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. He also assisted in parish work at Church of San Francisco Solano.[12] In addition to Spanish, he speaks Italian and French. At the press conference announcing his appointment, he received from his friend, Luis Bambarén, Bishop Emeritus of Chimbote, the crozier that belonged to Cardinal Landázuri, who ordained him.[13]

Cipriani said Castillo's appointment should not be interpreted politically as an expression of support for the Pontifical University or liberation theology, or disrespect for Opus Dei, and said such interpretations viewed prelates as "neighborhood brawlers" rather than viewing the appointment of a bishop as a deep and spiritual event.[13] But Austen Ivereigh called it "an ecclesial earthquake".[14] Without naming Cipriani, Cardinal Pedro Barreto said Castillo's appointment "brings the Peruvian conference of bishops much closer to the reality of the church of which we all dream, a church that is poor and for the poor, a church that reaches out, a church that is closer to those who are suffering now."[15] John L. Allen Jr., citing the differences between Cipriani and Castillo on liberation theology and the Pontifical University, wrote that "it's still fairly unusual to see a cardinal's legacy disassembled in real time quite like this".[16]

Castillo's consecration and installation ceremony was held on 2 March 2019.[17][18] He was consecrated by the apostolic nuncio to Peru Archbishop Nicola Girasoli, with Cardinals Cipriani and Barreto, Archbishop Héctor Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte and Bishop Luis Bambarén Gastelumendi serving as co-consecrators.[19] During the ceremony the liberation theologian, Gustavo Gutiérrez, speaking as representative of the church of Lima, formally called upon the papal nuncio to ordain Mattasoglio as bishop.[20]

On 6 October 2024, Pope Francis announced he plans to make Castillo a cardinal on 8 December,[21] a date that was later changed to 7 December.[22]

Selected writings

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His principal works include:[23]

  • Libres para creer, la conversión según Bartolomé de Las Casas en la Historia de las Indias, Fondo Editorial PUCP, 1993.
  • Teologia della rigenerazione, EMI, 2001.
  • La opción por los jóvenes en Aparecida, CEP-IPADEJ-IBC, 2008.
  • Joven, a ti te digo ¡levántate!, 2009.
  • Caminando en el amor. El pastor de una Iglesia viva. Homenaje al cardenal Juan Landázuri Ricketts en el centenario de su nacimiento (editor), Fondo Editorial PUCP, 2014.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Resignations and Appointments, 25.01.2019" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Nuevo arzobispo de Lima es sociólogo sanmarquino" (Press release) (in Spanish). Universidad Nacional Mayor San Marcos. 25 January 2019. Archived from the original on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  3. ^ Rojas, Liliana (25 January 2019). "Sacerdote Carlos Castillo Mattasoglio es el nuevo arzobispo de Lima". La República (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Docentes ordinarios y contratados | Departamento Académico de Teología PUCP". departamento-teologia.pucp.edu.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  5. ^ "Monseñor Carlos Castillo, nombrado gran canciller de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Perú". Religión Digital (in European Spanish). 2024-03-16. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  6. ^ PuntoEdu (2012-12-28). "Sobre el dictado de cursos de Teología en la PUCP". PuntoEdu PUCP (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  7. ^ Perú 21 (2019-08-22). "Juan Luis Cipriani prohíbe dictar teología a sacerdotes de la PUCP". peru21.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-10-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "El Vaticano pide explicaciones a Cipriani por la PUCP". Religión Digital (in European Spanish). 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  9. ^ "El cardenal Versaldi, nuevo Gran Canciller de la PUCP". Religión Digital (in European Spanish). 2016-11-16. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  10. ^ "Carta del Papa Francisco a la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú | CEP" (in Spanish). 2017-04-03. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  11. ^ "Pbro. Carlos Castillo será el nuevo Gran Canciller de Nuestra Institución" (in Spanish). Faculty of Theology of Lima. 25 January 2019. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  12. ^ Brockhaus, Hannah (25 January 2019). "Pope names new archbishops in Peru, Mexico". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  13. ^ a b Gernández, Cristina (26 January 2019). "El Vaticano designa nuevo liderazgo en la Iglesia de Lima". El Comercio (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  14. ^ Ivereigh, Austen [@austeni] (25 January 2019). "Lima's new archbishop is a theologian priest close to Liberation Theology pioneer Gustavo Gutiérrez and ministered in his Lima area of Rimac. An ecclesial earthquake" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Fraser, Barbara J. (26 January 2019). "Pope names theology professor to succeed Lima cardinal". The Tablet. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  16. ^ Allen Jr., John L. (27 January 2019). "In case you didn't hear, Jean Jadot is alive and well and living in Lima". Crux. Archived from the original on 27 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  17. ^ "Carlos Castillo Mattasoglio tomó posesión del cargo de arzobispo de Lima" (in Spanish). RPP. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  18. ^ "Que la unidad y continuidad de la Iglesia sean la luz que ilumine este tiempo" (in Spanish). Arzobispado de Lima. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  19. ^ "Cipriani se despide del Arzobispado de Lima: 'Qué buen descanso voy a tener'". El Comercio (in Spanish). 25 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  20. ^ McDonagh, Francis (4 March 2019). "New Archbishop of Lima calls diocese to journey to poor". The Tablet. London. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  21. ^ "Annuncio di Concistoro l'8 dicembre per la creazione di nuovi Cardinali, 06.10.2024" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 6 October 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  22. ^ Brockhaus, Hannah (12 October 2024). "Vatican Shares Pope Francis' Schedule for December Consistory to Create Cardinals". National Catholic Register. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  23. ^ Cruz, Rubén (25 January 2019). "El Papa acepta la renuncia de Cipriani y nombra arzobispo de Lima a Carlos Gustavo Castillo Mattasoglio". Vida Nirvana (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2019.
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