Buenos Aires archbishop calls for aid to poor on 50th anniversary of 1976 Pallottine murders

Archbishop Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva presided over a Mass at the San Patricio church in the Belgrano district of Buenos Aires, marking the 50th anniversary of the 1976 killing of three priests—Alfredo Leaden, Alfredo Kelly and Pedro Dufau—and two seminarians, Salvador Barbeito and Emilio Barletti. The victims, known as the Pallottine martyrs, were shot by armed men attributed to security forces linked to the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina after the 1976 coup.

In his homily García Cuerva urged a renewed commitment to those suffering “the agony of unemployment, the affliction of poverty, the pain of the sick, the loneliness of our elders and the suffering of those exposed on the streets.” He warned, “We do not want to be indifferent, we do not want cruelty and individualism to win.” The archbishop recalled the martyrs’ “defence of life and human dignity” and the blood‑stained carpet that remains a symbol of their sacrifice.

The commemoration drew Pallottine clergy from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Cuba and Poland, and included a public march demanding accountability for the unresolved murders. The event also recalled that then‑archbishop Jorge Bergoglio (later Pope Francis) opened the beatification cause for the five victims in 2005.