Gustavo Gutiérrez, the Peruvian priest who founded Liberation Theology, dies

“The Dominican Province of San Juan Bautista of Peru regrets to inform that today, October 22, 2024, our dear brother, Gustavo Gutiérrez Merino, has left for the Father’s House,” the religious indicated on the social network Facebook.

«We ask your prayers so that our dear brother enjoys eternal life», added the order.

The Bartolomé de las Casas Institute, founded by the theologian in 1974, confirmed his death on the social network X.

“With deep pain, we announce that our dear friend and founder Gustavo Gutiérrez has left tonight,” said the interdisciplinary organization that cares for those most in need.

«His work and work in favor of the poor and the most discarded in society will continue to illuminate the path of the Church for a more just and fraternal world,” he added.

Masses in his honor

The Dominican order in Peru announced that in the coming days masses will be celebrated in honor of Gutiérrez and a tribute in the Basilica of Santo Domingo, in the Peruvian capital.

The priest’s remains will be laid to rest starting Wednesday night in a hall for this purpose belonging to the Dominican community in that same city.

Gutiérrez, who was born in Lima on June 8, 1928, was one of the most influential figures in the theological field and social of Latin America.

The priest was considered the father of Liberation Theology, the Christian movement focused on the poor that had important political repercussions throughout the region.

It was the intellectual, who became a Dominican at the age of 76, who used that expression for the first time in 1968, at a meeting of the Latin American Episcopal Conference in Medellín (Colombia), to apply the reforming principles of the Second Vatican Council.