On Monday, the press room of the Holy See announced that the diocese of Santiago del Estero will be elevated to the status of archbishopric.
However, it will remain under the Archdiocese of Tucumán as a suffragan diocese. The current bishop Vicente Bokalic Iglic will remain diocesan bishop, now with the title of archbishop. He will also use the title "Primate of Argentina" in future, which has been given to the archbishops of the capital archdiocese of Buenos Aires since 1936.
Pope Francis himself was Archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1998 to 2013 and thus Primate of Argentina.
In a joint press release, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva, and the newly appointed Primate explained the Pope's move and described the decision as "historic reparation": "Santiago del Estero has borne the glorious title of 'Mother of Cities' for centuries and, as the centre of the spread of the Gospel, is also the 'Mother of Dioceses' in the Republic of Argentina; there are therefore many reasons to honour it as the primatial see."
A young diocese on paper only
Pope Pius V founded the diocese of Tucumán, based in Santiago del Estero, in 1570 with the bull "Super specula militantis Ecclesiae".
The current archdiocese of Santiago del Estero was only established in 1907 as a diocese from areas of the diocese of Tucumán.
However, it is the place "where the Gospel of the Lord resounded for the first time with the voice of a successor of the apostles in this country, whose future would be Argentina", the archbishops continued.
Pope Francis has therefore moved the primatial see from Buenos Aires to Santiago del Estero.
The previous seat was merely the first archdiocese of the country.
According to the press release, the papal bull ordering the transfer of the primatial see will be proclaimed on 25 August in Buenos Aires and on 7 September in Santiago del Estero.
The title of Primate does not generally confer any additional leadership powers, with the exception of a primacy of honour.
In the German-speaking world, the Archbishop of Salzburg currently holds the title "Primas Germaniae".