Fermín Emilio Lafitte

His Excellency

Fermín Emilio Lafitte
Archbishop of Córdoba
Lafitte as Archbishop of Córdoba.
ArchdioceseCórdoba
InstalledApril 20, 1934
Term endedJuly 8, 1957
Predecessorpost created
SuccessorRamón José Castellano
Other post(s)Archbishop of Buenos Aires

Enthroned = March 25, 1959 Ended = August 8, 1959 Predecessor = Santiago Copello Successor = Antonio Caggiano


Vicar apostolic of the Military Bishopric of Argentina (1957-58)
Orders
OrdinationAugust 15, 1911 (Priest)
ConsecrationNovember 12, 1927 (Bishop), by Archbishop Filippo Cortesi
RankArchbishop of Antiochia in Pisidia
Personal details
Born(1888-11-02)November 2, 1888
Peyrun, France
DiedAugust 8, 1959(1959-08-08) (aged 70)
Buenos Aires
BuriedMetropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires
NationalityFrench and Argentine
DenominationRoman Catholic Church

Fermín Lafitte (November 2, 1888 – August 8, 1959) was an Argentine Roman Catholic cleric, serving as Archbishop of Córdoba and, briefly, as Archbishop of Buenos Aires.

Biography

Lafitte was born in Peyrun, Hautes-Pyrénées Department, France. He emigrated to Argentina and was ordained as a priest in 1911.[1] He was consecrated Bishop of Córdoba in 1927, and upon the establishment of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Córdoba in 1934 (previously subordinate to the Archdiocese of Tucumán) Lafitte was enthroned as its Archbishop. He later emerged as one of the leading conservatives in the Argentine curia, and following a rift in church–state relations in Argentina in 1954 Lafitte was among the first public figures to organize rallies opposing President Juan Perón's secular reforms. He later supported the coup that ousted Perón in 1955 (which began in Córdoba).[2]

Lafitte was then appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, under its Archbishop, Cardinal Santiago Copello, in 1956. In 1958, he was made titular archbishop of Antiochia in Pisidia and Archbishop Coadjutor with right of succession, while retaining the post of Apostolic Administrator. Pope John XXIII appointed Cardinal Copello to the Apostolic Chancery on May 26, 1959, upon which the office of Archbishop of Buenos Aires automatically passed to Lafitte.[3] Lafitte was concurrently appointed vicar of the newly created Military Bishopric of Argentina, which has special jurisdiction over members of the Armed Forces.[4]

He was Archbishop of Buenos Aires for less than three months, as he died on August 8, 1959. The causes of his death are not publicly known, but his death occurred when he was about to hold Mass during a visit to the Naval Military School, troops were formed and the clarion was sounding when Lafitte felt dizzy and suddenly died.[5]

His remains rest in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Archbishop Fermín Emilio Lafitte". Catholic Hierarchy.
  2. ^ Raúl Faure. "Cómo fue que Perón perdió la batalla por Córdoba". La Nación. Archived from the original on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  3. ^ "Arquidiocesis de Buenos Aires". aica.org. Archived from the original on 2013-09-26. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  4. ^ ""El Obispado Castrense en cuestión", por Juan Navarro Floria, in Revista Criterio". Archived from the original on 2013-03-29. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  5. ^ Verbitsky, Horacio (2011-04-01). La violencia evangélica (Tomo 2). De Lonardi al Cordobazo (1955-1969): Historia política de la iglesia católica (in Spanish). Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial Argentina. ISBN 9789500734332.
  6. ^ "Catedral Metropolitana (Paseando por Buenos Aires) | Paraconocer". www.paraconocer.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2018-08-28.