Bishop Luigi Infanti della Mora

He was born in Udine, Italy, on February 4, 1954. His parents, both deceased, were Margarita de la Mora and Juan Infanti. He entered the minor seminary of the Order of the Servants of Mary at the age of 10 (1964). He arrived in Chile from Italy in 1973 and joined the educational community of Liceo San Felipe Benicio; there, he completed part of his secondary education and distinguished himself in basketball, representing his school, while also learning Spanish. In 1978, he took his first vows as a friar of the Servants of Mary, a role he fulfilled until 1990, when he was ordained a priest on August 5 of that year in Bolivia. He pursued studies in Philosophy and Theology at the Pontifical Catholic University in Santiago. Between 1986 and 1995, he was part of the Servants of Mary community in Cochabamba, Bolivia, dedicating himself to various pastoral services—most notably serving as General Coordinator for Pope John Paul II's visit to Cochabamba. He also taught Communications at the Catholic University of Bolivia while heading the Communications Department for the Archdiocese of Cochabamba. Within the religious community, he was responsible for the Servants of Mary Major Seminary in Cochabamba. Upon his return to Chile in 1995, Msgr. Aldo Lazzarin entrusted him with the role of Pastoral Vicar. Later, following the acceptance of Lazzarin’s resignation as bishop, Luis Infanti accepted the appointment as Pro-Apostolic Vicar of Aysén—a position he held until 1999, when Pope John Paul II appointed him the fifth Bishop of the Vicariate. His episcopal ordination was presided over by the then-Apostolic Nuncio to Chile, Msgr. Luigi Ventura, on December 5, 1999. Upon his election as Bishop and Apostolic Vicar of Aysén, Father Bishop Luis Infanti De la Mora chose the motto "To Jesus through Mary," thereby charting the path for his service as shepherd of the Church in Aysén. As a religious belonging to the Order of the Servants of Mary, he chooses Mary once again as a model and a path to reach Christ more deeply, for Mary is the perfect disciple of Jesus Christ. In her—in her face and mother's heart, in her life, words, and actions—lies the clear and enduring mark of Christ, our only and eternal Savior. In his work as a shepherd, he has promoted a style of Church that is missionary, participatory, and committed to ongoing formation, where the laity assume a leading role in the internal life of their Christian communities. He played a prominent role in the emblematic "Aysén Case" starting on September 10, 2002; in a public statement titled "Where is your brother?", he called for reflection on the disappearance and death of 12 young people in the city of Puerto Aysén from 1997 onwards, questioning the investigative work carried out up to that point. Other areas of emphasis in his work as Bishop of the Church of Aysén have included strengthening the FAMILY through the establishment of the Vicariate's Family Ministry; EDUCATION, by promoting improvements in the educational projects of the Vicariate's schools—such as through the creation of the San Pablo Educational Foundation—and fostering regional coordination among Catholic schools and religion teachers; and SOCIAL MEDIA, an area Bishop Luis Infanti has strengthened as a local Church initiative, aiming to use these tools for evangelization with a clear social focus—leading to the creation of the Madipro radio network, an entity with regional reach. Undoubtedly, the ENVIRONMENTAL issue has gained greater relevance in recent years; during this time, the Church of Aysén has engaged in a process of reflection regarding the type of region and development it requires. This process culminated in the Pastoral Letter titled "Give us today our daily water," in which the bishop presents an ethical-religious perspective on the exploitation of natural resources, particularly water.