Mario Fiore was born on 16 January 1937 in Avellaneda, Argentina. His parents had to wait until 1940 before their son could be sealed, as the country did not yet have its own Apostle at the time. Although the means of the family were modest, his parents managed to enable him to study medicine.

Mario Fiore was ordained as a Deacon in April 1958 and became a Priest in September of the same year. On 11 December 1977 he was ordained as an Apostle. He was commissioned as a District Apostle in April 1992 to take over from District Apostle Pablo Alfredo Bianchi. The working area encompassed Argentina, parts of Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

District Apostle Fiore’s time in office was characterised by growth: he was able to dedicate or reopen 175 churches and managed to almost double the number of members. With this expansion, he was clearly responding to Chief Apostle Hans Urwyler’s call in the 1980s to erase the so-called blank spots on the New Apostolic map. In a circular shortly before his retirement, the District Apostle mentioned that he had made 369 trips abroad as a minister. In the same circular, he also introduced his successor, Norberto Rubén Batista. In September 2006, Mario Fiore retired after a total of 48 years in ministry.

An active retirement

In retirement, Mario Fiore, who is a medical doctor, worked as a consultant in a hospital. He also devoted himself to his hobbies of reading, listening to music, and building models. Together with his wife he attended church services in the Palermo congregation. District Apostle Enrique Minio conducted the funeral service there on 7 November 2023.

“We intercede in heartfelt prayer for the bereaved and all those mourning his death,” Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider writes in his letter to the Apostles around the world. “May our heavenly Father give them much comfort, strength, and confidence in these difficult hours of parting.”