BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, OCT. 27, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The Argentine Episcopal Conference expressed its condolences today for the unexpected death of former president Néstor Kirchner, 60, who suffered a sudden heart attack.
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the current president of the country, was at the side of her husband when he died this morning in the southern province of Santa Cruz, where the two were visiting during a national holiday.
“We express our pain and we deeply mourn his death,” the conference’s spokesman, Father Jorge Oesterheld, said in a statement.
The priest added that “the Argentine bishops and the entire Church is praying for his eternal rest, for the president, and for his family.”
The spokesman said that Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires and president of the episcopal conference, will send a note of condolence to the national authorities.
Néstor Kirchner served as president of Argentina from 2003-2007, and in 2009 he was elected to congress. His wife has been president of the country since 2007, and is expected to run for re-election next year.
