Background
He was born on February 9, 1923 in Arroyo Seco, Santa Fe, Argentina.
He was born on February 9, 1923 in Arroyo Seco, Santa Fe, Argentina.
He did post-graduate studies in the United States and was ordained a Methodist pastor in 1950. Pagura served as president of the Latin American Council of Churches (1972-1992). He helped refugees from the political persecution in Chile after the 1973 coup that brought Augusto Pinochet to power.
He was subsequently one of the founders of the Ecumenical Movement for Human Rights in 1976.
During the Argentine dictatorship (1976-1983), Bishop Pagura joined in the silent vigils of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo to protest the abduction of thousands of children. He has retained the title of Methodist Bishop Emeritus.
Interested in poetry and music since his adolescence, he was the president of the editorial committee which published in 1962 an interdenominational hymnal, Cántico Nuevo, for which he contributed 77 Spanish translations of hymns together with 5 original hymns. In 2003, the Argentine Congress included Bishop Pagura in their list of "Most Noteworthy" of the country.