The Rt. Rev. Nick Drayson, Bishop of Northern Argentina, pays tribute to one of Church Mission Society’s local partners, his assistant bishop, the Rt. Rev. Urbano Duarte:
Early on Monday 10 September the Diocese of Northern Argentina lost one of her spiritual leaders. Urbano Duarte, aged 67, had been assistant bishop for just over two years, and died in hospital after a very short illness. We remember his wife Lucia and five children.
The burial took place in his home town of Potrillo [on Tuesday 11 September], where nearly 1,000 people gathered to honour him, and say farewell. Noticeable among the mourners, including Wichi and Toba Christians, from the Anglican and other churches, were many schoolteachers, who paid a glowing tribute. “Whenever Urbano Duarte was around we knew there would be peace — he was a gentleman and a quiet leader.”
Read the rest at Church Mission Society.
Matthew Townsend is the former news editor of The Living Church and former editor of the Anglican Journal. He lives in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.