200th Anniversary of the Argentinian Army´s General Vicary

The spiritual attention to the military forces has very old precedents. We can find them in the
Sacred Scripture: from Moses, who interceded for the people of Israel persecuted by the Egyptian
army on their march to the Promised Land1; later when he prayed to the Lord of Hosts to give the
Israelites the victory in the battle against Amalek2; to Saint John Baptist, who advised some
soldiers3; to Saint Peter who baptized the centurion Cornelius4 and Saint Paul who evangelized his
jailer5. The epigone is constituted by the Lord Jesus himself, who by attending the plea of a junior
officer of the Roman army for a servant who was ill, not only granted what he was asked for but
was admired by the faith of this soldier: "I assure you that not even in Israel have I found so much
faith. "6

In the Middle Ages we already find the outstanding figure of the Franciscan Saint John of
Capistrano (1386-1456). The modern judgment of historian Juan Hofer states that "Juan de
Capistrano saved Belgrade three times: inducing the military chief (Hunyady) to engage in naval
battle; resisting the proposals and pressures of the military leaders to abandon the city to their
fate and, on the night of the assault, in the absence of the military leaders, encouraging the
combatants with their presence and word. "7

Canonized in 1690 by Alexander VIII, in 1984 Blessed John Paul II declared him "Patron before
God of the Military Chaplains of all the Armed Forces of the western and eastern regions of the
world."

Echoing this immemorial tradition and attending to the pastoral indications of the Second Vatican
Council, Blessed John Paul II promulgated on April 21, 1986 the Apostolic Constitution Spirituali
Militum Curae, by which the Military Ordinariates were legally equated with the dioceses, with
the purpose of providing a more stable organization to the pastoral or religious assistance of the
Catholic military. Because, as the first point of the Spirituali Militum Curae says, "The spiritual
assistance of the military is something that the Church has always wanted to care for with
extraordinary concern according to the different circumstances. Certainly this constitutes a
certain social group and because of the peculiar conditions of his life, either because they are part
of the Armed Forces in a voluntary and stable way, or because they are called to them by law for a

1 Ex. 14, 13ss.
2 Ex. 17, 8-16.
2 Ex. 17, 8-16.
3 Lc. 3,14.
4 Hch 10,1ss.
5 Hch 16, 29-33.
6 Lc. 7,9.

7 MIGLIORANZA, CONTARDO, San Juan de Capestrano, Buenos Aires, Misiones Franciscanas Conventuales, 1994, p. 201.
specific time, they need a concrete and specific form of spiritual assistance; because of this need,
over the years, it has veiled the sacred hierarchy, and in particular the Roman Pontiffs, given its
service function or "diaconia", providing the best way in each of the cases, with the most
appropriate jurisdiction to people and circumstances. "8

The Argentine Military Vicariate was erected by the Agreement of June 28, 1957 between the
Argentine State and the Holy See, became the Military Bishopric of Argentina in 1986.

In our country, the religious assistance to the armed forces dates back to Spanish times. Many
military chaplaincies of forts and border cantons gave rise to parishes and "civilian" Christian
communities.

As an example, we find that in the Malvinas Islands, during the Spanish period, between 1767 and
1811, 35 military chaplains served: 16 Franciscans, 18 Mercedarians and one Dominican. To this
we add the 21 naval chaplains of the Spanish Armada, of the secular clergy, embarked on the ships
that periodically arrived at the islands. What gives us a total of 56 priests for a period of 44 years.
Two of these chaplains died on the islands and were buried there: the mercedary Fray Juan López
Neyla (+1/9/1788) and Father Mariano José Zarco (+1803).

In 1806 the Spanish-Creole troops that expelled the English invaders went to battle after attending
the Holy Mass, either in a temple, as the troops of Juan Martín de Pueyrredón in the temple of Our
Lady of Luján before confronting the British in Perdriel, nor as it was in the Campaign Mass, as
the troops of Santiago de Liniers in the Chacarita, before defeating the intruders in the streets of
Buenos Aires.

The First National Government9 maintained the military religious service that was held since
Spanish times. We know that the Argentine Army "was born with the Homeland in May 1810", by
virtue of the decree of May 29, 1810, issued by the Junta four days after its formation. And almost
two weeks later, on June 14, the first military chaplains were appointed by decree of the Board
chaired by Cornelio Saavedra, Commander of the Patricios Regiment, with the agreement of the
Bishop of Buenos Aires, at that time Lieutenant Vicario Castrense, Monsignor Benito de Lué y
Riega. The first chaplains of the Argentine Army were the Fathers Joaquín Ruiz and Manuel
Albariño, assigned to the army that went to Alto Perú.

8 Apostolic Constitution Spirituali Militum Curae .
9 Cf. Ludovico García de Loydi, Los Capellanes del Ejército, Bs. As., 1980, T. III p. 196.
Also the army that marched in campaign to Paraguay at the end of 1810, commanded by the Grl
Manuel Belgrano counted with military chaplains: the Fathers Juan José García de Arboleya and
Juan Valle. Before the battle of Paraguary, a campaign altar was erected on the summit of Mount
Mbaey and the Holy Mass was celebrated there.

In 1812, being in charge of the Army of the North, Belgrano had the flag he created blessed. The
blessing was made by the chaplain Juan Ignacio Gorriti in San Salvador de Jujuy on May 25.
Belgrano's concern for the religious assistance of his troops is evident in two documents of the
time: "It will size all [chaplains] from fulfilling their obligation to be present at the time of the
rosary, and comply with the orders that are communicated on preaching, noting the reasons why
they did not execute it."10

And to the Government, the General communicates what follows: "Here we work what we can,
and I hope it will be with good success, through God and Our Generala, Most Holy Mary of
Mercedes: seen VE to the troops with this Lady's scapular: command them to pray the rosary with
devotion, and that the Chaplains explain to them, after it the Christian doctrine, even a quarter of
an hour: it does not matter that the careless ones ridicule it; V. E. will see the happy results: I
speak from experience. "11

Twenty-two days after this communication from Belgrano to the Triumvirate, the Assembly of
Year XIII created the General Military Vicariate, which nationalized and gave legal framework to
what had been done since the time of Spanish domination. The First Military Vicar was the Dean
Dr. Diego Estanislao Zavaleta.

The Father of the Nation also understood the absolute necessity of the religious assistance of both
the Grenadier Regiment on Horseback and the Army of the Andes. This was stated by Grl San
Martin himself: "It is a sensitive matter the lack of a military vicar, who contracted by his institute
in the exclusive service of the army, which could be better attended to in his spiritual and religious
occurrences than is currently with the case of the parish priest. of the city, whose occupations
inherent to the vast extension of his congregation distract him in an inevitable way. If to all we
add the lack of a chaplain in the army corps, we will agree on the absolute necessity of this
measure. "12

10 Note from Belgrano to the Militar Vicar Juan Ignacio Gorriti en AGN, Ordenanza al ejército. Tucumán, 28-X-1816.
11 AGN, From Belgrano to the Goverment, Jujuy, 6-VI-1813.
12 AGN From San Martín to Toribio de Luzuriaga Documentos referentes a la Guerra de la Independencia y Emancipación de

la República Argentina, Bs. As., 1917, p. 372.

The chaplains of today must, first of all, be priests of Christ at the service of God and of men. But
with a particular vocation to be shepherds of souls that serve the defense and security of the
Fatherland. That is our honor: to be at the service of those who serve the Fatherland. As priests, we
are sent to announce the Gospel and to administer the sacraments wherever the military and their
families are present. A pressing demand that is, nothing more or nothing less than contributing to
guarantee the exercise of the human right to religious freedom.

Abnegation, respect for the freedom and rights of man, apostolic zeal, strength, pastoral charity,
like Jesus, who "has not come to be served, but to serve and give his life."13 Even heroism, because
"no one has greater love than the one who gives his life for his friends"14. The chaplain must be
the man who makes Christ present, in those who possess the vocation of service as peculiar as the
militia, which implies of its own the possibility of offering their own life, if necessary, to ensure
the defense and integrity of the Homeland.

Pope Benedict XVI reminded us at the International Meeting of Catholic Bishops of 2011, that
"the military life of a Christian, in fact, is related to the first and greatest commandment, that of
love of God and our neighbor, because the Christian military is called to make a synthesis by
which it is possible to be a military man out of love, fulfilling the ministerium pacis inter arma."15
Pope Francis, who was Apostolic Administrator of our Military Bishopric, in the recent Mass with
Italian military and chaplains (02Jun2013) said: "The Lord listens to the prayer of all, as he heard
that of the centurion who asked for the healing of his servant. The prayer of all not as if we were
anonymous, but the prayer of each and every one. Our God is God of the great and of the small.
Listen to everyone because he loves everyone. "

Virgen de la Merced, Generala and Patron of the Argentine Army, pray for us.

Mons. Pedro Candia

Administrador Diocesano

Obispado Castrense de Argentina

13 Mt. 20, 28.
14 Jn. 15, 13.

15 BENEDICTO XVI, Ibídem .