Today, Leo XIV has appointed Fr Alfonso María Bauer Ormazábal SDB as the new Bishop of Florida, Uruguay.
Born
in Montevideo in 1968 and ordained in 1996, Monsignor Bauer is a
Salesian with experience in formation and youth ministry. He holds a
Licentiate in Spiritual Theology from the Pontifical Salesian University
in Rome. He served as provincial of the Salesians in Uruguay from 2018
to 2024.
Monsignor Bauer has published many short videos on
social media in which he is dressed in civilian clothing (see the
screenshots below). His themes align with Pope Francis's rhetoric about
hospitality, love, listening, and closeness.
The picture above,
taken in February 2023, shows him seated while presiding over the
Eucharist. He uses profane glass jugs and baskets. This Eucharist was
held during a meeting of 80 "evangelizers" from Salesian institutes in
Uruguay. They discussed "the new paradigm of integral ecology presented
by Pope Francis in the apostolic exhortation Laudato Si."
Another
example of his profane celebration style is the youth Eucharist on
March 6, 2026, pictured below. In the photo, a teenager dips Holy
Communion from a wooden bowl into the chalice. On the "altar" with the
colorful tablecloth are a profane drinking glass and glas bottle.
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