Henry Shaw stands in Argentine history as a beacon of integrity and commitment Social and religious life in everyday surroundings. The Pope has just approved the decrees related to his next beatification. His figure transcends the boundaries of the business world and becomes a symbol for lay people who embody Christian values and service to the common good through their work and family life. At a time when economics and ethics are often portrayed as opposites, Shaw’s life invites us to discover the ways in which honesty, civic responsibility, and evangelical inspiration can transform society.
Born in Paris in 1921Enrique Shaw came to Buenos Aires at a very young age and was registered as an Argentine citizen when he was just two months old. His childhood was characterized by movement, learning and opening up to the world, but above all by a solid intellectual and spiritual education. His mother died when Enrique was four years old.
The professional career de Shaw reached his peak as general manager of Cristalerías Rigolleau, one of the country’s most important industrial companies in the 1950s, with almost four thousand employees. His leadership was characterized by transparency, the pursuit of excellence and a humanistic vision of the company. Shaw viewed the company not just as a profit generator, but as an authentic community of people in which every employee has a central place.
One of the most significant episodes of his leadership occurred when they ordered him from headquarters in New York to lay off a significant number of employees: almost twelve hundred. Enrique did not hesitate to personally travel to the United States to expose the reality of the workers and defend their continued employment. His intervention, based on strong arguments and the conviction that human dignity must prevail over any financial calculation, managed to reverse the decision and avoid mass layoffs. This episode reflects his bravery, courage and commitment to social justice.
For Shaw, The company was a privileged place of evangelization and promotion of the common good. Deeply inspired by the social teaching of the Church, he promoted the holistic development of people, participation, the fair distribution of wealth and dialogue between sectors. He was a member of the Argentine Catholic Action, the Council of Men, and at the same time Father Moledo encouraged him to create ACDE together with several men from this commission, with the aim of seeing business leaders assume their role as agents of social change and as beacons of hope. He also helped found the Argentine Catholic University. It should be noted that the episcopate of those years accompanied this determined and enterprising layman and encouraged his proposals.
Life by Enrique Shaw cannot be understood without its family dimension. As a married father of nine children, he knew how to combine the demands of the business world with a generous and daily commitment to his wife and his large family. At home he cultivated the values of respect, rigor, joy and shared faith and was a living example of coherence and tenderness. The strength of the family was a source of balance for him and a driving force for his social commitment.
In the last years of his lifeEnrique was seriously ill. Far from distancing him from his co-workers, this time strengthened the deep bonds of affection and mutual recognition. When he needed transfusions, nearly two hundred workers volunteered to donate blood, a testament to the affection and gratitude towards those who had always considered them part of a large family. This gesture encapsulates the respect Shaw has gained through closeness and devotion.
His beatification has enormous significance: he is not a priest or a religiousbut of a layman, businessman and family man whose life shows that holiness is possible in the midst of the world and daily tasks. His example particularly challenges those who want to live the faith in the professional and social spheres and shows that human excellence and openness to the transcendent can go together.
The legacy by Enrique Shaw transcends his time and his environment. He is a model of lay holiness, of an honest businessman, of a committed citizen and of a sincere Christian. His life inspires those who want to build a more just, supportive and fraternal Argentina, where work is a source of dignity and business practice is a calling to service. Shaw shows us that true success is measured by the good we inspire in others and our ability to transform reality through gospel values.
The figure Enrique Shaw continues to call for a rethinking of the meaning of work, economics and social responsibility. In a world looking for authentic references, the next blessed Argentine is a beacon not only for businessmen and workers, but for all who long for a more humane and supportive society. His example remains and calls us to be protagonists of a transformation inspired by love and justice.
Archbishop of San Juan de Cuyo, President of the Episcopal Communications Commission of the Argentine Bishops’ Conference, National Advisor to the Argentine Catholic Action and member of the Vatican Dicastery for Communications
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