This second installment, looking ahead to the sesquicentennial of relations between Bolivia and the Vatican, deals with the transition from Apostolic Delegations to the Nunciature (1877-1925); that is, until the establishment of full diplomatic relations.
The War of the Pacific (1879-1880) left a painful lesson for the conservative governments of the late 19th century: it was not enough to possess territories on a map; it was urgent and strategic to ensure the effective presence of the State throughout the vast and vulnerable national territory. At the same time, the nation required a process of internal “decolonization” promoted through education.
From this realization, a sort of symbiosis was born between the State and the Church, translated into solid support for religious missions in indigenous territories, where the State was conspicuously absent and inoperative. Likewise, the government facilitated the entry of new religious orders, taking advantage of the renewed impetus that the Holy See gave to missionary work throughout the 19th century. The rehabilitation of the Society of Jesus and the arrival of Salesians, Lasallians, and the Daughters of Saint Anne—focused on elite and technical education—as well as the Daughters of Charity in the social sphere, marked the transition from the 19th to the 20th century.
While the bloody Federal War was being fought in Bolivia, Monsignor Pietro Gasparri served in Lima as pontifical delegate for Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador (1898-1901). He was a prominent ecclesiastical figure who would later achieve the highest dignities: cardinal, Secretary of State to two popes (1914-1930), and signatory of the Lateran Pacts alongside Benito Mussolini.
Relations between the Vatican and Bolivia experienced a phase of outright tension with the rise to power of the Liberal Party, due to an agenda of secular reforms that undermined the traditional influence of the Church in civil life. Although today it seems anachronistic to us, the controversy—which revolved around freedom of worship, ecclesiastical jurisdiction, religious education in public schools, and civil marriage—brought bilateral relations to the verge of rupture at that time.
Such a critical scenario unfolded during the administration of Ismael Montes (1904-1909), with Monsignor Angelo Dolci serving as apostolic delegate, residing permanently in La Paz.
The highest point of this disagreement was reached with the Apostolic Letter “Afflictum propioribus” (1906) by Pope Pius X. The document was addressed to the Bolivian bishops, but its harsh criticisms of secularizing policies were intended to reach the ears of the Montes government. Despite the severity of the dispute, there is no evidence of a formal diplomatic response by the Bolivian government to said encyclical, nor of a suspension or rupture of relations, as has sometimes been claimed.
Starting in 1917, the Apostolic Delegation was elevated to the rank of “Internunciature,” a decisive institutional step toward the consolidation of full relations that would culminate on February 11, 1925, with the elevation of Internuncio Gaetano Cicognani (1925-1928) to the rank of nuncio.
In this complex redefinition of the legal framework between the Church and the State, Monsignor Rodolfo Caroli played a fundamental role, serving as internuncio from 1917 until his sudden death in La Paz in 1921. In a surprising gesture, the National Convention—of liberal extraction—declared national mourning and authorized his burial in the crypt of the Cathedral of La Paz.
This event constitutes an unequivocal sign that bilateral relations were not as deteriorated as the disputes of the previous decade might have suggested.