Posted on 11/10/2026 2:19:05 PM PST by ebb tide
Argentine Archbishop Héctor Aguer, an orthodox prelate and ardent supporter of the Traditional Latin Mass, died on Tuesday at the age of 83.
The Archdiocese of La Plata confirmed early afternoon Tuesday that its former head, Héctor Aguer, passed away.
“With deep regret, but with the hope placed in the Risen Christ, we communicate to all the People of God who are the pilgrimage in La Plata, the death of Héctor Rubén Aguer, Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of La Plata,” the archdiocese said in a statement signed by the Archbishop of La Plata, Msgr. Gustavo Carrara, his auxiliary bishops, and other clergy.
“His death occurred today, Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at the age of 83. We thank the Lord for the gift of his life and for the years of fruitful episcopal ministry among us,” the archdiocese stated.
AdVaticanum just published Monday an interview with Aguer in which he called for the repeal of Pope Francis’ Latin Mass-suppressing document Traditionis Custodes, as well as “other draconian measures of the previous pontificate.” Aguer called for a “return to Summorum Pontificum of Pope Benedict XVI.”
Aguer lamented the “free fall” of the Church in Argentina, shown by its “empty seminaries, empty convents and a dramatic shortage of priests.” He criticized Francis for having “filled the Argentine episcopate with progressivism,” suggesting that the decline of the Catholic Church in his country is at least in part due to Francis’ influence there.
“In Argentina, the Church has almost completely lost its presence in the cultural mainstream. Turned almost exclusively toward ‘the social’, the clear, firm and unapologetic proclamation of Jesus Christ is conspicuous by its absence,” said Aguer.
The archbishop nevertheless pointed to “a growing interest in orthodoxy and tradition” among priests and laity as a sign of hope.
In July, Aguer pointed out that, contrary to the aims of Francis, Traditionis Custodes “contributed” to this “growing interest in tradition and orthodoxy, especially among the young.”
“Today a good deal of conversions occur among those who prefer the usus antiquior. To a significant degree, the transmission of the faith no longer passes from parents to children, but from young people to young people,” said Aguer, who pointed out that he himself had never offered the Traditional Latin Mass.
In the interview with AdVaticanum, Aguer said he “very soon must render an account to the Lord.”
LifeSiteNews editorial director Dorothy Cummings McLean expressed her sadness at hearing of Archbishop Aguer’s passing, saying, “I felt that I knew him a little from his writings.”
Father Christian Viña, a priest in the Archdiocese of La Plata, wrote that Aguer “knew how to conform himself deeply to Christ. Therefore, he was able to be a shepherd in accordance with the Sacred Heart of Jesus—one who not only confronted the wolves to protect his sheep but also sought to convert the wolves themselves.”
The archdiocese will be holding a wake for Aguer at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in La Plata all day Thursday as well as Friday morning. The funeral Mass, presided over by Archbishop Carrara, will take place at the cathedral at 10:00 AM Friday. Aguer’s remains will then be transferred to the Pantheon of Clergy at the La Plata Cemetery.
LifeSiteNews has published many of Aguer’s works in defense of the orthodox Catholic faith. This past summer, Aguer lauded the revival of the Traditional Latin Mass among young people while again asserting that Archbishop Annibale Bugnini, one of the architects of the Novus Ordo Missae, was a Freemason.
An excerpt of the archbishop’s essay, originally published by LifeSiteNews, is reproduced here:
Something striking to me: little is preached in the Church today about eternal life, the four last things, and the glorious coming of Our Lord. Meanwhile, certain tech magnates speak of the Antichrist and organize gatherings with businessmen and the powerful to protect themselves from him. The “Silicon Valley apocalypse” maintains that the earth is no longer a safe place — that not even Mars, where they seek to relocate, will be safe, since they fear that even there an uncontrolled, vengeful artificial intelligence will eventually arrive. Who would have imagined just a few years ago that we would witness this?
Without a doubt, it is no easy matter to heal so many ills of the ecclesial body — ills aggravated during the second decade of this century and well into the third. The time has come for greatness, for doctrinal solidity, for the consequent restoration of discipline — without favoritism or ideologically skewed perspectives. We repeatedly hear about reading the signs of the times and knowing how to listen. Would that today we might hear the voice of the Lord and not harden our hearts (cf. Ps 95:7-8).
I am 83 years old and I live in a priests’ home — something like a nursing home for clergy. I move very little and almost never leave my room, except to go to the chapel. I know that very soon the Lord will call me to His presence — He whom I sought to love and serve in the best way I could, even with my sins and limitations. And I am trying to prepare myself for that reckoning with more prayer and the offering of my present sufferings.
In this twilight of my life, one of the greatest satisfactions remaining to me is that of having ordained, as archbishop of La Plata, 49 priests and three deacons on their way to the priesthood. Several of them — young and courageous, zealous guardians of sound doctrine — are today serving in growing communities characterized by careful liturgy, patient pastoral attention, and missionary zeal. From these communities vocations are emerging for the whole Church: for marriage and family, for the priesthood and religious life. They and their spiritual children constitute a great part of the consolation and hope of this elderly bishop.
Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Hécton Ruben Agüer went to the seminary there, and was made auxiliary of Buenos Aires in February of 1992 -- Bergoglio was made Auxiliary months later, against the advice of the Superior General of the Jesuits. The same Bergoglio, as Francis, accepted his retirement on the very day Agüer turned 75: a rarity. And named none other than Tucho Fernández to be his successor.
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