A Profile of a Christian Entrepreneur Who Brought the Gospel Into the Marketplace
Introduction
In recent years, the Church has increasingly highlighted the vocation of lay people to evangelise the world from within — not by withdrawing from society, but by transforming it through the witness of a Christian life lived in ordinary circumstances. Few modern figures embody this vision as compellingly as Venerable Enrique Ernesto Shaw (1921–1962), the Argentine naval officer turned businessman whose heroic virtues were recognised by Pope Francis in 2021.
Shaw offers the Church a striking example of what authentic lay discipleship can look like in the world of business. He understood the economy not as a neutral or secular space, but as a field of mission — a place where the dignity of the human person is affirmed, where work can be sanctified, and where the Gospel can subtly transform corporate cultures, business structures, and economic relationships.
This article explores Shaw’s life, spirituality, and especially his pioneering efforts to evangelise the world of work. Far from being a story reserved for corporate executives, his witness speaks to all who labour — in offices, workshops, factories, shops, and homes — and to all who believe that holiness is possible in the very heart of the world.
1. Early Life: Formation in Faith and Duty
Enrique Ernesto Shaw was born in Paris on 26 February 1921 to Argentine parents of German and Scottish heritage. His early years were marked by profound personal loss: his mother died when he was very young, and his father entrusted his education to his maternal aunts and a priest. This priestly influence helped form in him a deep love for the Church and a disciplined approach to prayer that he carried throughout his life.
When the family returned to Argentina, Shaw attended La Salle College in Buenos Aires. A bright and conscientious student, he showed early signs of leadership and integrity. Despite his father’s concerns, Shaw entered the Argentine Naval Military School at the age of fifteen. His time in the Navy (1936–1945) was decisive: the rigour, camaraderie, and ethical demands of military life shaped his sense of responsibility and his understanding of service as a form of love.
A turning point came when he read the French Cardinal Emmanuel Suhard on Catholic social teaching called France Mission Land?. Shaw realised that the Christian faith was not meant to be compartmentalised; it demanded to permeate every aspect of life, including one’s professional responsibilities. This insight would later become the foundation of his spirituality as a business leader.
2. Marriage and Family Life: Holiness in the Ordinary
In 1943, Shaw married Cecilia Bunge, beginning what would become an extraordinarily fruitful marriage. They had nine children, one of whom later became a priest. Family life was not peripheral to his mission; it was central. Shaw believed that holiness in the workplace was rooted in holiness at home — in prayer, self-sacrifice, tenderness, and faithfulness.
He often rose early for prayer before beginning work, attended daily Mass when possible, and integrated his spiritual life with the ordinary rhythms of fatherhood. Despite the demands of his career, he was known for his availability to his children and his attentiveness to his wife. For Shaw, evangelisation began in the domestic church.
3. Entering the Business World: Work as a Vocation
After leaving the Navy, Shaw joined Rigolleau Cristalerías S.A., a major Argentine glassware company. He rose quickly through its ranks, eventually joining senior management. It was here — in meeting rooms, factory floors, and corporate negotiations — that Shaw began to live out his distinctive vocation: being Christ in the business world.
Shaw rejected the notion that business was merely about producing goods or generating profit. Instead, he argued that a company is a community of persons, bound together by a shared purpose and deserving of structures that reflect their dignity. In his later writings — including La Misión de los Dirigentes de Empresa (“The Mission of Business Leaders”) and Eucaristía y Vida Empresaria (“The Eucharist and Business Life”) — Shaw articulated a robust theology of work rooted in the Church’s social teaching.
His underlying conviction was simple yet radical:
The business world is a place of mission, where the Gospel must be lived through decisions, policies, relationships, and structures.
This conviction shaped everything he did.
4. Evangelising the Business World: A Vision of Christian Leadership
4.1 Founding ACDE: Forming Christian Executives
In 1952, Shaw co-founded the Argentine Christian Association of Business Executives (ACDE — Asociación Cristiana de Dirigentes de Empresa) and became its first president. ACDE was founded on principles that were ahead of their time:
- workers must be treated as persons, never as expendable resources;
- businesses must serve the common good;
- leadership is a moral and spiritual responsibility, not merely a technical skill;
- the Christian executive has a duty to transform the culture of the workplace.
Through ACDE, Shaw created a space for business leaders to reflect on ethical questions, pray together, and study Catholic social doctrine. He understood that evangelisation in the workplace depended on the formation of leaders who would shape businesses from within.
4.2 International Collaboration: UNIAPAC
Shaw was not only a national leader but an international one. He helped connect ACDE to UNIAPAC — the International Christian Union of Business Executives — linking Argentine business leaders to a worldwide network. He believed that the problems of the business world were global and that a united Christian witness was essential for promoting a culture of ethical, humane, and spiritually grounded economic life.
4.3 Transforming the Company from Within: Policies That Evangelise
Shaw practised what he preached.
He implemented progressive workplace policies long before they became common:
- Pension funds to ensure long-term security for workers
- Health care plans and support during illness
- Financial assistance for employees during childbirth, bereavement, or crisis
- Transparent communication and a culture of mutual respect
- Consultation with employees during periods of difficulty or restructuring
These were not merely acts of generosity. They were, for Shaw, a matter of justice.
His approach reflected the Church’s teaching that labour is not just an economic factor but a deeply human reality. To neglect the needs of workers would be to neglect Christ himself.
4.4 A Crucial Test: Resisting Layoffs and Choosing Solidarity
One of the defining moments of Shaw’s career came in 1961, when an American trust fund sought to purchase Rigolleau and planned to lay off over 1,000 workers. Shaw proposed an alternative recovery plan that preserved all jobs. He insisted that economic efficiency should never eclipse human dignity.
His approach was not naïve idealism but practical, prudent leadership rooted in Christian ethics. He believed that companies should face difficulties as families do — through solidarity and shared sacrifice.
5. Suffering, Persecution, and Heroic Charity
5.1 Imprisonment for His Faith
In 1955, during political tensions in Argentina, Shaw was arrested amid anti-Catholic persecution. Far from retreating into bitterness, he used his imprisonment as an opportunity to serve his fellow inmates. He shared food, mattresses, spiritual encouragement, and friendship. This episode illustrated the depth of his humility and the consistency of his charity.
5.2 Cancer: A Final Offering
Diagnosed with cancer in 1957, Shaw continued to work, write, and speak as long as his health allowed. His suffering deepened his spirituality. He offered his illness for the sanctification of businessmen, workers, and the wider Church.
In a deeply moving moment, 260 of his employees donated blood so he could receive a transfusion. Shaw said that knowing he lived with “the blood of his workers” within him was profoundly meaningful — a symbol of the communion he had always sought to build.
He died on 27 August 1962 at the age of forty-one, having spent his final months in prayer, gratitude, and peace.
6. A Spirituality for the World of Work
Enrique Shaw’s spirituality was centred on the conviction that holiness is possible — indeed, necessary — in the very heart of the world. Three themes stand out:
6.1 Work as Mission
For Shaw, work was not a distraction from the spiritual life; it was a primary place where one meets God:
- in decisions
- in responsibilities
- in relationships
- in service
He believed that the modern world needs lay saints who sanctify the everyday.
6.2 Leadership as Service
Shaw’s leadership style anticipated later papal teachings, especially those of St John Paul II and Pope Francis. He saw leadership not as an assertion of power but as a service of love, marked by:
- respect
- patience
- listening
- humility
- justice
This approach aligned perfectly with Catholic social teaching, even before Vatican II articulated the universal call to holiness so clearly.
6.3 The Eucharist in the Workplace
Shaw had a deep Eucharistic devotion. He believed that the Eucharist formed the Christian entrepreneur into a sign of Christ’s self-giving love. His book Eucaristía y Vida Empresaria expressed his belief that Eucharistic spirituality must shape business ethics, fostering generosity, compassion, and a just use of resources.
7. Legacy and Contemporary Relevance
7.1 Recognition by the Church
The Church formally opened Shaw’s cause for canonisation in 2001. On 24 April 2021, Pope Francis declared him Venerable, recognising the heroic virtues of his life.
7.2 A Model for Christian Professionals
Shaw’s example resonates today more powerfully than ever. In a global economy often marked by depersonalisation, inequality, and high pressure, his life reminds Christians that:
- business can be a path to holiness;
- economic activity can be a force for the common good;
- workers’ dignity is non-negotiable;
- leadership is a moral vocation.
7.3 A Lay Saint for a Lay Church
Shaw’s witness complements the vision of Vatican II: the laity, by virtue of their baptism, are called to bring the Gospel into the world in ways that priests and religious often cannot. His life shows that professional life — especially in demanding environments — can become a place of profound spiritual maturity and missionary fruitfulness.
8. Reflection Questions (for individuals or groups)
- Do I see my workplace as a field of mission?
- How do my decisions at work reflect the dignity of the human person?
- In what concrete ways can I live Gospel values in professional settings?
- How can I cultivate a prayer life that sustains my work and relationships?
- What structures, policies, or attitudes in my place of work could be transformed by Christian principles?
Conclusion
Venerable Enrique Ernesto Shaw stands as a prophetic witness for the Church in the modern world. He proves that it is not only possible but deeply fruitful to live the Gospel within the demanding realities of professional life. His legacy invites us to rediscover the workplace as a place of holiness, mission, and transformative love.
Shaw shows us that one can indeed be both a faithful disciple and a successful businessperson — and that the world of work, when illuminated by the Gospel, becomes a place where God’s Kingdom quietly and powerfully takes root
