RMG – Two Salesian bishops on the places of the first Mass in Argentina and Chile 500 years ago

RMG – Two Salesian bishops on the places of the first Mass in Argentina and Chile 500 years ago
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11 November 2020

(ANS - Rome) - On 11 November 1520, 500 years ago, Fr Pedro de Valderrama, chaplain of the expedition led by the explorer Ferdinand Magellan, celebrated the first Mass in the territory that is Chile on the hill of Monte Cruz on the Strait that will take its name from the navigator. Pope Francis recalls this in his message for the occasion, citing the motto of the diocese of Punta Arenas: "God entered from the South". The recipient of the message was the local bishop Msgr. Bernardo Bastres Florence, a Salesian, to whom the Pope expresses his sorrow for the impossibility, due to the pandemic, to celebrate the happy anniversary with mass liturgical acts, as planned. He reaffirms his closeness to the Chilean Church in a particularly difficult time for the country and for the Christian community itself.

The same happened months ago, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the first Mass in Puerto San Julian, today Argentine territory, Province of Santa Cruz, celebrated on Palm Sunday, April 1, 1520, in the presence of 200 adventurers who spoke different languages and very few locals who watched with curiosity. On this anniversary, Pope Francis sent Cardinal Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, archbishop of Montevideo (Uruguay), also a Salesian, as his representative.

This presence of Salesian bishops in the places of Magellan takes on considerable significance: they are a further sign of the great missionary work carried out by the Sons of Don Bosco in those lands at the "end of the world", populated by indigenous populations that have disappeared today, and by immigrants from various nations. To find out more, see the book Magellano e don Bosco intorno al mondo, by Nicola BOTTIGLIERI (published by LDC, 2019) and the film “A sud del sud” by Salvatore Metastasio (2014).

The hope is that the Salesians and the Salesian Family today will know how to maintain their active presence in Patagonia in the footsteps of the Salesian missionary heroes of the past, as has been requested several times by Pope Francis.

In Fortescue Bay (called "Puerto de las Sardinas" by shippers), 185 km from Punta Arenas, the place where Magellan's expedition celebrated their first Mass in 1520, the Chilean Navy has erected a Cross. Set in June 2020, it was officially inaugurated in October as part of the events celebrating the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the Strait of Magellan, which unites the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. A video of the cross being raised is visible online.

Fr Francesco Motto, SDB

Istituto Storico Salesiano

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