The pope suggested that one concrete way business leaders could contribute to the common good was by creating jobs, particularly in a moment when people continue to face unemployment as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Return to the economy of what is tangible, not to lose sight of the real. And what is real is production, the work of all, that there should be no lack of work, families, the homeland, society,” he said.
The pope pointed to the example of Venerable Enrique Shaw, an Argentine businessman whose heroic virtues were recently recognized by the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints in April.
Shaw was born in Paris, France, in 1921, and emigrated to Argentina, where he established himself as a businessman of outstanding integrity. He founded the Christian Association of Business Executives in 1952 and sought to apply Catholic social teaching in the workplace.
The businessman had nine children, including one who became a priest. He wrote numerous books and articles, and established a pension fund and a healthcare plan to provide 3,400 workers with financial support in the case of illness, and loans for important life events such as marriage, birth, and death.
Sara Shaw, one of Enrique’s daughters, told EWTN News that what she remembered most about her father was “how he enjoyed coming home. He would come in whistling. We kids would come running, and the whole atmosphere changed because it was like a party when he came home from work … he really enjoyed his family.”
One of the family’s devotional practices was praying the rosary.
“He taught each one of us how to lead a decade, taking turns, and he used to tell us to mention our petitions out loud … and we used to walk to church on Sundays to get to Mass early,” she recalled.
“After Communion, he gave us all a hug and had us pray the Anima Christi … that was very beautiful and many people remember how he had us recite this prayer in thanksgiving after Communion.”
