Enrique Ernesto Shaw (26 February 1921 – 27 August 1962) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

businessman. He was born in France and later emigrated to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

where he served in the

marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

. He promoted and encouraged business growth in accordance with the Catholic Church's social doctrine of the faith and he founded the Christian Association of Business Executives. He was also a prolific writer and published a range of books. His cause of sainthood commenced in 2001 and he has been accorded the title

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

to recognize the commencement of the process.

Life

Enrique Ernesto Shaw was born in 1921 in Paris as one of two children of Argentine parents, Alejandro Shaw and Sara Tornquist Altgelt; he was of both German and Scottish descent. The Shaws moved back to Argentina in 1923. Sara died in 1925. He served as a marine in Argentina and entered in 1936 despite the opposition of his father. He became a Junior Lieutenant. He started his business at the conclusion of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and established in 1952 the Christian Association of Business Executives with the assistance of Archbishop – later Cardinal –

Joseph Cardijn Joseph Leo Cardijn (; 13 November 1882 – 24 July 1967) was a Belgian Catholic cardinal and the founder of the movement of Young Christian Workers (''Jeunesse ouvrière chrétienne'', JOC). Cardijn was best known for his lifelong dedicati ...

. He became a prolific writer and he published a wide range of books. He was also among the founders of the Christian Family Movement and he also served as the president of the Argentine

Catholic Action Catholic Action is a movement of Catholic laity, lay people within the Catholic Church which advocates for increased Catholic influence on society. Catholic Action groups were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic cou ...

. He also established a pension fund and a health care plan to provide medical services and financial support in circumstances such as illness and new births. In 1955 he became a victim of anti-Catholic persecution in the administration of

Juan Peron ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philipp ...

. He was arrested and was seen as an altruistic prisoner as he provided fellow inmates with mattresses that relatives brought to him as well as food. In 1961 a firm he led was sold to an American trust fund that decided to fire over a thousand people. Shaw was opposed to this and proposed a plan to retain all workers. One of his initiatives was the application of

Catholic social doctrine The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international instituti ...

in the workplace and he also paid attention to the social teachings of

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

in 1946. At that same time he served in an organization for humanitarian aid for post-war Europe. In 1943 he married Cecilia Bunge and the couple went on to have nine children; one became a priest. Shaw also taught his children the importance of

rosaries The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

and how to use them. He also took them to church each week. In 1957 he fell ill with cancer. He took to writing during this time and also found time to speak at conferences. In mid 1962 he received a

blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's Circulatory system, circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used ...

donated from his fellow workers. People at the hospital that Shaw was admitted to were perplexed as to the number of workers in line to donate blood. Shaw himself said before his death that he was pleased that the blood of his workers coursed through his veins. He – despite the risks – took a pilgrimage to

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...

before his death. Shaw was a member of the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher. He died on 27 August 1962 in a hospital in Buenos Aires.

Beatification process

The beatification process commenced on 25 September 2001 under

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in a process in Buenos Aires that conferred upon him the title

; the process opened in Argentina under Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio – the future

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

. The local process spanned from 25 August 2005 until 19 September 2013 and concluded in a Mass under Archbishop

Mario Aurelio Poli Mario Aurelio Poli (; born 29 November 1947) is an Argentine prelate of the Catholic Church who was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires from 2013 to 2023. He was the Bishop of Santa Rosa from 2008 to 2013 and before that an auxiliary bishop in Bue ...

. The process received formal ratification in 2015 in order for the cause to proceed to the next level. He was recognized for heroic virtue and elevated to the title "Venerable" by Pope Francis on 24 April 2021. On 12 September 1996 the promotion of his beatification cause came when Archbishop – later Cardinal –

Jorge María Mejía Jorge María Mejía (31 January 1923 – 9 December 2014) was an Argentine cardinal of the Catholic Church (Roman Rite). Early life and ordination Mejía was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and ordained to the priesthood for the Metropolitan ...

invited the faithful to spread Shaw's message.

References

External links

Hagiography Circle

ACDE
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Enrique Ernesto 1921 births 1962 deaths 20th-century venerated Christians Businesspeople from Buenos Aires Argentine people of German descent Argentine people of Scottish descent 20th-century Argentine businesspeople French emigrants to Argentina Deaths from cancer in Argentina Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery Venerated Catholics by Pope Francis Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre