In his first appointment as Pope, Francis named Bishop Mario Aurelio Poli as his successor as Metropolitan Archbishop of Buenos Aires.
Bishop Poli, who once served as auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires, was until now serving as Bishop of Santa Rosa.
Born in Buenos Aires on November 29, 1947, Bishop Poli entered the Metropolitan Seminary of Buenos Aires at the age of 22 and was ordained a priest on November 25th, 1978. He received his doctorate in Theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina.
After serving as parochial vicar of San Cayetano parish in Argentina for two years, Bishop Poli served as chaplain of the Servants of the Holy Spirit, as well as director of the San José Vocational Institute and member of the Presbyteral Council of the Major Seminary. He also taught ecclesial history in the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina.
On February 8th, 2002, Bishop Poli was named titular Bishop of Abidda and auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires. Six years later he was named Bishop of the diocese of Santa Rosa. He currently serves as President of the Episcopal Commission for Catechesis and Biblical Pastoral.