Pope Francis named him Archbishop of La Plata on 2 June 2018 to succeed Héctor Rubén Aguer. He said his program for the archdiocese would be ""Evangelium gaudium", but seriously, not as a slogan", and that Francis has told him to look carefully at the archdiocesan seminary. He was enthroned in his archdiocese on the following 16 June. Hs relationship with Pope Francis dates to his work for the Argentine Bishops' Conference where he demonstrated his ability to incorporate different viewpoints in drafting group statements. As head of the drafting committee for the Aparecida Conference of CELAM in 2007, Francis relied on Fernandez' skill. The résistance on the part of Roman Curia to Francis' selection of Fernández as rector of UCA is thought to have solidified Francis' support and prompted his naming Fernández an archbishop and giving him important assignments as well. Trusted by Pope Francis, he is commonly recognized as a contributor to the exhortation "Evangelii gaudium". He has also been credited with writing the encyclical "Laudato Si'". Called Francis' "trusted theologian", he is said to have been the principal author of "Amoris Laetitia", the apostolic exhortation issued by Francis in 2016 following the two sessions of the Synod of Bishops on the Family. In his own extended defense of "Amoris", Fernandez argued for greater latitude when deciding giving Communion to the divorced and remarried. He wrote that "one cannot maintain those [sexual] acts in each and every case are gravely dishonest in a subjective sense. In the complexity of particular situations is where, according to St. Thomas [Aquinas], 'the indetermination increases'." He has also said that "in many issues I am far more progressive than the Pope". He has also been called Francis' "primary ghostwriter" and "" ("close collaborator"). Francis cited his essay "The good things of living in this time" in a talk to the clergy of Rome in February 2018. He already published more than 300 books and articles in Argentina and in countries in Latin America and Europe, which have been translated into several languages, including English, Portuguese, French, Italian and Polish. His writings of spirituality combine scholarship with practicality, contributions of psychology, biblical exegesis and dialogue with several religions. In "Il progetto di Francesco. Dove vuole portare la Chiesa" ("The Francis project.