Chile: Lutheran bishop appointed chaplain to presidential palace

Bishop Izani Bruch will be responsible for worship, pastoral care at the government headquarters

(LWI) - On 21 April, Rev. Izani Bruch, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile (IELCH) has been appointed chaplain of the Palacio de La Moneda of Chile, the headquarters of governmental affairs and ministries in Chile.

Bishop Bruch was appointed by the Minister Secretary General of the Presidency on behalf of President Gabriel Boric Font.

"As a church we are very happy and we receive it with humility, with fear and trembling, but also with great hope and commitment to make this new Chile, which we are all dreaming of, possible," Bruch said.

Bruch, a native of Brazil, moved to Chile in 1992 and was ordained as a pastor in 2002. She is known for her active participation in the ecumenical movement and human rights advocacy. In 2019, Bruch was elected bishop of the IELCH.

Since 1999, law granted equal legal status to all churches and religions registered in Chile. As part of the implementation of that law, the government instituted a chaplaincy at the presidential palace.

As chaplain, Bruch will be responsible for worship services and pastoral care for palace staff and employees who are members of various denominations, including Lutherans, Evangelicals and Pentecostals.

The IELCH has 3 thousand members in different regions of the country.

Regarding the diverse denominations Bruch said, "We seek to establish an open chaplaincy, respectful of the diversity in our religious world."

Bishop Bruch is the second Lutheran pastor to be appointed. Former LWF Vice-President for Latin American and the Caribbean, Rev. Dr Gloria Rojas Vargas was presidential chaplain in 2014.

By Communications Network - LAC. Edited by LWF/A.Gray

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