Mauricio López- a Latin American martyr at WSCF

PAREDES, ALEJANDRO

student world

BGÖI

Lugar: Budapest, Hungría; Año: 2009

1560-4861

Mauricio López was born in Bahía Blanca, Argentina. He graduated in Philosophy at National University of Cuyo (Spanish: Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, UNCuyo) in Mendoza, Argentina and undertook PhD studies at Faculty of Protestant Theology of Paris. Among other things, he was the Secretary for Latin America at the World Student Christian Federation and the Assistant Secretary of the Church and Society Department at the World Council of Churches. He came back to Argentina  in 1969 to become the rector of National University of San Luis (Spanish: Universidad Nacional de San Luis, UNSL).  In spite of the threats received, he remained heroically committed to helping the exiled Chileans after 1973 coup d’état and the many Argentines persecuted by the military in power after 1976. In  New Year’s Eve 1977 he was kidnapped. Although his whereabouts after that remain unclear, witnesses say he died in a torture chamber at Las Lajas, an illegal detention camp in Mendoza, Argentina. This article points out his most important contributions to Ecumenism.