Bolivia

Bolivia: Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia
 

 

























Population: 10,715,000 (2017)

Languages: Spanish & 36 indigenous languages [such as Aymara, Borôro, Cayubaba, Leco, Wichí Lhamtés Nocten, etc.] are the official languages; American & Bolivian Sign Language (Ethnologue)  
 
Major Places: Sucre (official capital – Supreme Court residence), La Paz (capital of government),

Political System: Unitary Multiparty Republic with 2 Legislative Houses (President is head of state and head of the government)
Independence Day = August 6, 1825

Catholic Dioceses in Bolivia:

4 Archdioceses
Metropolitan Archdiocese of Sucre
Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Cruz
Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cochabamba
Metropolitan Archdiocese of La Paz
6 Dioceses
Diocese of Oruro
Diocese of San Ignacio de Velasco
Diocese of Coroico
Diocese of Potosí
Diocese of Tarija
Diocese of El Alto

Missions in Bolivia:
Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers
Franciscan Mission Service
Diocese of Juliet
Missionary Society of St. James the Apostle
St. Cloud Mission Office

Bolivia in the News:
The Archbishop of Santa Cruz is advocating for Bolivia state funds to be designated for providing social welfare resources that address basic needs – education, health and housing. Agenzia Fides reports “the Archbishop urged public authorities to allocate state funds as priorities to implement social policies that respond to the basic and real needs of the population, in particular those who suffer most and the marginalized sector.”
Bolivia is well-known for its’ indigenous population; the country’s 2009 constitution officially recognized 36 native languages spoken throughout Bolivia. Juan Evo Morales is the current president of Bolivia, who is widely recognized the first indigenous president. He has served since 2006, which has caused some controversy in the country given his now 12-year term in office and his intention to run again in October 2019 election, according to The Guardian. The New York Times (NYT) offers an interesting outlook on the potential for change in the elections in Latin America. In July, NYT reported the election of Andrés Manuel López Obrador in Mexico that dismantled the 70-year stretch of governing by the former incumbent party. A victory that President Evo Morales reportedly commended.
The Church of America, along with the universal Church, is preparing to celebrate the Exraordinary Missionary Month – which will be next October to dignify the 100^th anniversary of the Apostolic Letter "Maximum illud" of Pope Benedict XV. Earlier this year, CAM5, otherwise known as the 5^th American Mission Congress, commenced in Bolivia in July. According to Agenzia Fides, one of the key speakers at the inauguration ceremony was Cardinal Fernando Filoni, a special envoy of the Holy Father Francis; he emphasized the significance of Ad Gentes missionary activity throughout the Church, especially in the Americas – North America, Central America and South America.

Agenzia Fides reports Cardinal Filoni said the three ambits – which are pastoral care for the spiritual and moral growth of believers, the ambit of baptized persons not living according to the exigencies of their baptism, mission Ad Gentes towards those who do not know Christ or have rejected Him – are “present in the Americas and represent today a major challenge for the Church. Additionally, Agenzia Fides reports,  Archbishop Giampietro Dal Toso, President of the Pontifical Mission Societies, also gave a speech (in Spanish) at the CAM5 ceremony indicating “the four fundamental dimensions that will characterize the Extraordinary Missionary Month: the personal encounter with Jesus Christ; the testimony of saints and martyrs of mission (canonized or not); missionary formation; missionary charity.”