Álvaro Chordi, auxiliary bishop of Santiago de Chile: “It is not about reconquering spaces of power, but about being a living Gospel”

Pamplonica, ordained a priest in the Diocese of Vitoria and linked to the Adsis Communities, from whose spirituality he has been drinking for more than 30 years, the Spanish missionary Álvaro Chordi arrived in Chile in 2015. Since this past October 10, he is the new auxiliary bishop of Santiago.



QUESTION.- These years you have focused your ministry on the most vulnerable in society. To the point that, when his episcopal appointment became known, in July, his faithful from the Parish of San Saturnino made a request: “That he not change, that he not stop being myself, that he not lose his freedom, that he not I forgot about the young and the poor”. To what extent do you put this call from the base at the center of your new pastoral mission?

RESPONSE.- In the weeks leading up to ordination, after appointment, many people have said things to me like this: “thank you for being who you are”, “the Lord chose you for who you are today”, “don’t forget the poor”, “don’t change”, “keep it that way”, “if you walk away, we will be there to help you”… They argue that it is frequent that someone who has been elected to the order of bishops undergoes a certain metamorphosis and is lost. I would like to think that we all welcome the life that comes to us, that it provides us with many experiences that fill our hearts with faces and shape our lives, to the point that they enrich and transform it.

part of the town

Q.- In your first Sunday mass after your appointment, a gesture full of spiritual depth was seen: from the altar, with your head bowed, you received the blessing of the parishioners, who raised their hands from the pew. Do you feel that he is not alone, but really accompanied by the People of God?

R.- I have never felt alone, because the Lord is with me. I have felt the strength of the prayer of many people and communities, known and unknown, which has been key to the consent to this call. By my own strength I would not have been able, the Lord empowers me with the prayer of all. I have received many expressions of affection and appreciation for me, which have surprised and even overwhelmed me.

At ordination I was examined before the assembly of God and, prostrated on the ground, I felt very intensely the intercessory prayer of the People of God with the litanies of the saints and blessed… I feel part of a pilgrim people of God in Chile, who is traveling synodal paths, prophetic and full of hope. We have just concluded the III National Ecclesial Assembly, in a very fraternal, dialogue, respectful and prayerful environment, which contains the incentives to provoke a before and after in the life of the Church of Chile.

Q.- The Chilean Church carries in recent years the heavy cross of sexual abuse and power committed against the most vulnerable within it. Do you perceive that from the ecclesial hierarchy the appropriate steps are being taken to heal your relationship with society and recover the lost respect?

R.- There is a long way to go. However, much progress has been made. There are gestures of forgiveness to victims and survivors of ecclesial abuse and we are committing ourselves to end that pain. We are aware that the flame went out and we did not see it, we did not hear it, we did not denounce it and the lives of many people, families and communities were broken. For various reasons, the umbilical cord between the Church and society was damaged, and we need to initiate processes that allow us to live the Gospel more, from the centrality of Jesus Christ, bear witness to our faith, alleviate the suffering of our neighbors, recover the territories organizing hope and offering faith and spirituality for all. It is not about reconquering spaces of power and social influence, but rather about being a living Gospel in the midst of a changing world.

the world has changed

Q.- Personally, how do you plan to contribute to this healing process from a position in which what you say and do will already have a national and even international resonance?

R.- The world has changed and we have to leave room for doubt and uncertainty, to the common search, to the dialogue that respects, agrees and seeks the truth, to travel paths of reunion, with the humility of those who know that they are stepping on sacred ground. Coherence of life is essential for any person, and even more so for a pastor. Restoring trust, assuming co-responsibilities, repairing the many damages caused or raising morale are paths that we must all travel together.

Q.- While in Spain, you devoted yourself especially to young people and the promotion of pastoral care with them. What is the best way to offer a message that, from faith, infects youth? Can the synodal journey be a historic opportunity for this?

R.- The best way is always Jesus Christ. Telling Jesus is our best pastoral method. It never fails. It is also about promoting the necessary conditions that allow access to Jesus and build the Kingdom of God. Young people have long been questioning the face of the Church as a whole, especially in the quality of community life. Young people seek a more relational and participatory Church, in which we speak and listen to each other, in the logic of the exchange of gifts and in which we all humbly listen to the voice of the Spirit. Young people cry out for brotherhood.

social boil

Q.- In recent years, there has been a strong social upheaval in Chile. Young people, especially, are the ones who most forcefully demand changes at all levels. How can these claims be received from the Church to walk alongside them around the common good?

R.- Young generations do not conceive of a future in which the profound social inequalities that exist today are maintained over time. Young people want to build a fair, equitable and participatory society, in which they feel truly represented. The Church cannot be oblivious to it; on the contrary, must walk with young people in achieving better living conditions for people and peoplesopening paths of life and hope.

Q.- Next year will be Francis’ decade as pope. To what extent does he hold you as an episcopal role model and to what extent does he think he will leave his pontificate in the history of the Church?

R.- My model is Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. Pope Francis offers me key references for the exercise of my recently begun episcopal ministry, such as closeness, compassion, depth, joy, humility, coherence and patience. I believe that this pontificate will go down in history for its gestures of humility, for opening doorsfor his defense of the care of the common home, for his fight against clericalism, the Vatican establishment and abuses, for his simple language and pastoral approach, for his preference for the poor…

Álvaro Chordi, auxiliary bishop of Santiago de Chile: “It is not about reconquering spaces of power, but about being a living Gospel”