Archbishop of Concepción
Arce Arriagada was born in Quillota on August 26, 1963. He professed his first vows with the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts on March 2, 1985, and was ordained a priest on December 15, 1990, in Valparaíso. He has served as a formator and advisor for various schools and youth ministry programs. Most recently, he was in charge of the chaplaincy at the Patronato SS.CC. and the Sacred Hearts church in Valparaíso. He served as Provincial Superior of the Congregation between 2005 and 2011. He presided over the Conference of Religious Men and Women of Chile between 2011 and 2014, a period during which he was a member of the National Council for the Prevention of Abuse and Support for Victims, a body of the Episcopal Conference. In 2018, he was appointed Delegate for receiving abuse complaints within the Chilean SS.CC. province. On February 5, 2020, Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Chillán. He took office on July 11 of that same year at the Chillán Cathedral, in a ceremony concelebrated by the Apostolic Nuncio, Alberto Ortega; the Archbishop of Concepción, Fernando Chomalí; and the Apostolic Administrator of Talca, Galo Fernández. From July 2021 until May 2024, Msgr. Sergio Pérez de Arce also served as Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference of Chile. On May 16, 2024, Pope Francis appointed him Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Concepción.