During the 131st Plenary Assembly of the Chilean Episcopal Conference, which is taking place from May 5 to 9 at the Padre Hurtado retreat house, the bishop of the Diocese of Santa María de los Ángeles, Msgr. Cristián Castro Toovey, was elected as the new Secretary General for a three-year term.
The pastor succeeds the Archbishop of Concepción, Monsignor Sergio Pérez de Arce, in this ecclesiastical service, who concludes his term after having served in this capacity since 2021.
The election is part of the Plenary Assembly's work, during which the bishops reflect, discern, and share the challenges facing the Church in the country.
Functions of the Secretary General of the Episcopate
The General Secretary is the permanent body of the CECh that promotes the execution and coordination of the agreements of the Plenary Assembly, the Standing Committee, and the Pastoral Commission of Bishops (COP). She is an executive position that implements the agreements of these bodies and coordinates the work of the COP and its pastoral areas. She also serves as the spokesperson for the Episcopate and represents the country's bishops as a delegate to the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM).
Biography
He was born on November 25, 1969, in Santiago, Chile. He completed his schooling at the Colegio San Gaspar, run by the Missionary Fathers of the Precious Blood. He entered the Pontifical Major Seminary of Santiago in March 1989. He was ordained a deacon on August 14, 1996, and a priest on May 24, 1997, by Cardinal Carlos Oviedo Cavada, Archbishop of Santiago, Chile. He carried out his pastoral ministry at the Santo Tomás Moro Parish in the Archdiocese of Santiago, Chile, first as vicar (1997–1999), then as parish administrator (1999–2001), and finally as parish priest (2001–2004).
Between 2004 and 2013, he served as pastor of the San Alberto de Sicilia parish in the northern part of the archdiocese. He also served as dean twice (2001-2003 and 2009-2011). He was a member of the Council of the Department of the Clergy (2008-2011) and diocesan delegate in the Pastoral Office for Complaints of the Archdiocese of Santiago de Chile (2011-2012). From 2013 to June 2014, he served as pastor of the Santa Inés parish and as general chaplain of the DUOC UC Professional Institute.
In June 2014, he was appointed Rector of the Pontifical Major Seminary of the Holy Guardian Angels, a position he held for seven years.
From June 2018 to August 2019, he served as Episcopal Vicar for the Clergy of the Archdiocese of Santiago. In December 2019, he was appointed Canon of the Metropolitan Chapter of the Cathedral of Santiago.
In June 2021, His Holiness Pope Francis appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Santiago, assigning him the titular see of Tigava. He received episcopal ordination on August 13 of the same year from Cardinal Celestino Aós, Archbishop of Santiago. His episcopal motto is: "Comfort, console my people." From 2022 to 2023, he served as Episcopal Vicar of the Eastern Zone of Santiago. He also served as Episcopal Vicar of the Northern Zone of Santiago and as Pastor of the Parish of the Stamp of Our Lady of Carmen in the commune of Independencia in the same city.
On March 23, 2024, Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of the Diocese of Santa María de los Ángeles, in the Province of Biobío, taking possession of the local Church on Saturday, May 25 of the same year.