Buenos Aires, Argentina - April 27, 2025 - Pope Francis, who lived through Argentina’s brutal military dictatorship known as the ‘Dirty War,’ has maintained a deeply personal connection to the victims of that dark era-especially through his friendship with Esther, a leader of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, and Ana María Careaga, a survivor of torture and abduction.
In 1977, when Ana María was just 16 and three months pregnant, she was kidnapped by the regime’s forces and taken to a secret detention center where she endured horrific torture. Her mother, Esther, joined a courageous group of women who protested weekly in Buenos Aires’ Plaza de Mayo, demanding answers for their disappeared children. This group, known as Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo, became a powerful symbol of resistance.
Jorge Bergoglio-then a priest and now Pope Francis-knew Esther personally long before his rise to the papacy. Ana María recalls how Bergoglio spoke of Esther’s integrity and dedication, a bond that lasted decades. During Ana María’s captivity, Esther and other activists gathered secretly in Santa Cruz Church, a place that would later become a poignant symbol of memory and mourning.
After Ana María’s release and escape to Sweden, the regime abducted Esther and other mothers. They were subjected to the infamous ‘death flights,’ where victims were thrown from planes into the sea. Esther’s remains were later found washed ashore, though unidentifiable, and buried in a mass grave.
Years later, as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio testified in trials addressing Dirty War crimes, recalling his pain upon learning of Esther’s fate and his efforts to support families in hiding. After the dictatorship’s fall, he honored the families’ wishes to bury the disappeared at Santa Cruz Church, “the last free land their feet touched.”
In 2018, Pope Francis sent a heartfelt message to Ana María, praising her mother’s tireless fight for justice and urging continued remembrance. Ana María treasures their WhatsApp conversations and a video of the Pope’s visit to Rome last year, where he spent an hour with her, fully aware of her ordeal.
As the anniversary of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo’s founding approaches on April 30, Ana María reflects on the enduring impact of disappearance: “Disappearance is the lasting presence of an absence.” She echoes the Pope’s call to safeguard memory, emphasizing that remembering is a pact of ‘never again’-a commitment to justice, fraternity, and peace in Argentina and beyond.