Ángel Sixto Rossi was born on 11 August 1958 in Córdoba, Argentina. He entered the novitiate of the then Argentine province of the Society of Jesus in 1976, studied philosophy and theology partly in Ecuador, and was ordained a priest on 12 December 1986. He earned a degree in spiritual theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome with a thesis on spiritual discernment in Saint Ignatius.
From 1990 to 1992 he was rector of the Church of El Salvador in Buenos Aires, where he opened the Hogar San José for people living on the street. In 1992 he created the Manos Abiertas Foundation, which now aids the poorest and most vulnerable in centres in ten Argentine cities. He was master of Jesuit novices from 1992 to 1995 and superior of the Jesuit residence community in Córdoba from 2013 to 2019, and up to his appointment he was a counsellor of the Argentine-Uruguayan Jesuit province, coordinator of its Itinerant Missionary Team and spiritual assistant of Manos Abiertas. He has published numerous books and essays on spirituality and pastoral care and has long given Ignatian spiritual exercises.
Pope Francis appointed him Metropolitan Archbishop of Córdoba on 6 November 2021; he was consecrated a bishop on 17 December 2021. Francis created him a cardinal in the consistory of 30 September 2023, assigning him the titular church of Santa Bernadette Soubirous. He is a member of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. He participated as a cardinal elector in the 2025 conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.
Consequential Quotes
For all that his pontificate meant, he leaves a legacy that hopefully we take, and we do what he carried in his heart.
Francis' revolution is to return to the Gospel.
Reach out your hand to the poor. It is a symbol that recalls closeness, solidarity, love.
But this demand of service to the poor has its source in no ideology: it is a stark and crystal-clear demand of the Gospel.
Those who are not capable of being outraged by the harsh reality do not truly love their people.
Major Works & Initiatives
Hogar San José, Buenos Aires
Home for people living on the street, opened while he was rector of the Church of El Salvador in Buenos Aires (1990–1992).
Fundación Manos Abiertas (founder)
Foundation he created in 1992 to aid the poorest and most vulnerable, now running social assistance centres in ten cities across Argentina; he remained its spiritual assistant until his episcopal appointment.
Educar es difícil, posible y bello
Book on education, listed by AICA among his published spiritual and pastoral works, which also include Semillas de Cielo y Tierra (1997) and Pequeños gestos con gran amor (1999).
Cuidar al Pastor
Book published in 2017, listed by AICA among his works of spirituality and pastoral care, alongside El secreto de la Belleza and Pinceladas Brocherianas (both 2017).
Controversies
Public criticism of Argentina's poverty debate
Rossi's homilies and interviews criticising official narratives on poverty in Argentina have drawn political controversy: in an October 2026 Radio Mitre Córdoba interview he said Pope Leo XIV would find an Argentina 'battered by poverty', and at the San Cayetano Mass he said 'the macroeconomy they talk about does not reach the plate' — remarks reported as direct challenges to the Milei government, whose supporters treat such interventions as political. Rossi has framed his position as religious rather than ideological, saying that the demand of service to the poor 'has its source in no ideology' but is a demand of the Gospel.
Sources
- Holy See Press Office — biography
- Wikipedia
- AICA — El padre Ángel Rossi SJ, es el nuevo arzobispo de Córdoba (appointment and book list)
- AICA — El Card. Rossi exhortó a 'despertar' ante la pobreza
- AICA — Card. Rossi: 'Quienes no se indignan por la dura realidad, no aman a su pueblo'
- National Catholic Reporter — Rossi at Pope Francis' funeral, 26 April 2025
- Jornada Política — Arzobispo Ángel Rossi: 'el Papa se va a encontrar una Argentina cascoteada por la pobreza', 2 October 2026