The Rt. Rev. Walter Toro Martínez. Bishop of Bolivia, has died after a short illness, church partners announced on Friday, April 17.

Toro Martínez was a significant figure in the life of the Anglican Church in Bolivia and was widely recognized as the first Bolivian national to serve as diocesan bishop. Educated in Bolivia and the UK, he served as a parish priest in Bolivia and was consecrated on 1 May 2022 in succession to the Rt. Rev. Raphael Samuel. Bishop Samuel, the former Bishop of Bolivia Frank Lyons and the primate of the Anglican Church of South America the Most Rev. Nick Drayson consecrated the new bishop at a service Iglesia Anglicana Cristo Luz del Mundo in Santa Cruz.

News of his death brought immediate expressions of grief from mission partners and church friends who had followed his illness in recent weeks. Prayers for the bishop had circulated before the announcement, as supporters asked for strength for his family, his diocese, and those closest to him.

Those who worked with Toro Martínez remembered him as a shepherd committed to the Gospel and to the growth of the church in Bolivia. His leadership reflected a deep concern for the life of the local church and for the wider relationships that connect Anglicans across South America and beyond.

At the time of the announcement, further details about funeral arrangements and memorial services had not yet been released.