Since Francisco Assumed head of the Catholic Church, he insisted on a premise that he considers fundamental. The Supreme Pontiff expressed on more than one occasion his wish that he “would like to a poor church and for the poor”. However, in his own country they do not seem to pay attention to him. An ecclesiastic born in Spain but who has officiated in Argentina for more than forty years is, without a doubt, the richest priest in the country. His name is Tomas Llorente Martinez and has a striking heritage, including accounts abroad -even one not declared in Switzerland- and also money obtained through inheritance, something that his congregation prohibits him. Not only that: the priest, who had silver in black, entered money laundering launched during the government of Mauricio Macri. And it could be said that he is a businessman as well as a priest, because he is on the board of a major real estate agency, Bordelongue y Cía SRL.
Llorente Martínez, 79 years old, has been since 1982 the parish priest of Manuel Albertia town in the Pilar district, and in 1992 took over in front of the Our Lady of Luján Chapelwhich works within the exclusive Turtles Country Club, one of the most expensive gated communities in the country. However, far from sticking to the stereotype of an ecclesiastical official and his vow of poverty, Lorente Martínez’s accounts show a patrimony that is not consistent with that of a priest.
Money
“If you look at the money he handles, you realize that it is excessive for a priest,” a source who knows about Llorente Martínez’s financial movements explains to NOTICIAS. According to the documents that appear in the AFIP consulted by this means, in his sworn statement the priest declared that he had more than 28 million pesos in accounts abroad, distributed in different Spanish banks, and another 3 million in the country. In addition, always according to his own records, the priest also declared the possession of more than 35 thousand dollars in cash.
But that’s not all, since, according to a notification sent to him by the same Federal Administration of Public Revenues, Llorente Martínez omitted to declare an account that he also has in Switzerland. According to this injunction, the ecclesiastic declared in 2018 that the account was empty, but the AFIP crossed information with the Alpine country and discovered that, on the contrary, it was active. According to the summons sent to him by the fiscal entity, financial holdings amounted to 49,900,615 pesos at the exchange rate at that time, an amount that in the context of the current economic situation would amount to a much higher figure.
“We don’t know what is worse, if knowing that he has that heritage being a priest, or the fact that he had not declared it, in black,” says another of the sources consulted by this medium, half jokingly and half seriously. Taking advantage of the national situation, Llorente Martínez entered the money laundering that was launched in the macrista management. “I dare say that he is the only priest that we are going to meet who was part of the money laundering. There is no other that has secret accounts abroad, much less with so much money”, sources close to the Church explain to NOTICIAS.
Llorente Martínez belongs to the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Holy Family. They not only take a vow of poverty, but also, like other congregations that are part of the Catholic Church, are prohibited from having accounts abroad. Another of the sections in which they are excluded is that of receiving inheritances for personal usufruct. However, Llorente Martínez was the beneficiary of an inheritance from a person who had died without issue and would have left all his assets to him. “He did not manage the assets, someone else did, but there was a business there and that is not consistent with what the life of a priest should be,” those who saw that file up close confide to NEWS. Llorente Martínez even sold the last piece of land that he had inherited just a few months ago and also for a large amount in dollars.
The links with the purchase and sale of real estate do not end there, since in addition, far from the austerity that his congregation carries as a sign, The priest is a member of the board of directors of an important real estate company. Yes, he is a businessman. In 2019 he was appointed as manager of Bordelongue y Cía SRL, along with former polo player Francisco Emilio Dorignac, who died in 2021, who in turn was the president of Club Tortugas since 1980. Dorignac is noted in the area as one of the most influential people in the region and not only commanded the destinies of the exclusive country, among other businesses, but he also directed the Argentine Polo Association on three occasions and was a counselor to the Argentine Olympic Committee. NEWS tried to contact the Zárate-Campana bishopric, but received no response.
Background
Llorente Martínez lives in a residence on land adjacent to the Manuel Alberti Parish, a town where he settled in 1982. However, his fate could have been different. After being ordained a priest, his desire was to mission in America, but not in Argentina, but in Chile. However, after the death of the parish priest of the Nuestra Señora de Fátima Church in Tortuguitas, he was entrusted with the mission of being his replacement, initially for a term of three years. But although the priest describes his arrival in the country as something almost fortuitous, the truth is that he was not random. “He belongs to a congregation, not to diocesan clergy. His arrival in the country occurs through the OCHSA (Obra para la Cooperación Sacerdotal Hispanoamericana) and he did not come alone but he did so with two other priests”, they explain.
The OCHSA is an institution created by the Spanish Catholic hierarchy to collaborate with the Catholic Church in Latin America, which is why it is normal for missionaries from that country to arrive in Argentina. In the early 1980s, Martínez Llorente came along with two other priests. One was José Ramón Villa, who before passing away became Pilar’s Vicar General. He was detained, accused of having covered up the abusive priest Napoleón Sasso. The other religious to arrive in the country was the priest Justo Rodríguez Gallego, today auxiliary bishop of the Zárate-Campana Diocese and whom some point to as the one who would be in charge of covering up any mischief by his compatriot. “Clearly, from the roles and places they were occupying, they were weaving contacts with people with power and influence and they were also gaining it,” explain those who know how the diocese works and how these three priests were forging their place within it.
“The role of Llorente Martínez was, during the time when the bishop was Monsignor Rafael Rey, to take charge of everything related to the administration of Catholic schools. He was the vicar plenipotentiary for all the schools, a key place in which his figure grew a lot within the community ”, they detail. In 2009, the priest was removed after it was discovered that he had made unclear maneuvers with the management of funds that were under his orbitand the administration was placed in the hands of a body of lay people by decision of the then Bishop Oscar Sarlinga.
After being exonerated from his official position in religious education, Llorente Martínez set up a structure not belonging to the bishopric but with the function of serving the community. This is how the “Ayudar a soñar” foundation was born in 2011. “These extracurricular activities are not subject to contributions from the State or the Church. And this is a key difference because foundations like the one he created do not belong to a legal person such as the bishopric and, by escaping from the orbit of the Church, it is very difficult to control its operation”, they tell NEWS. The foundation’s ultimate goal is to help children. It has a school support, a cultural center where catechism is also taught and a home for the elderly. And from Pilar they affirm that, although it could work better, it does provide social assistance.
But precisely the existence of this foundation is the excuse used by the priest when he is questioned about his accounts abroad. “He explained that all the money in his accounts was from donations to the foundation, but it never arrived. In fact, ‘Help to dream’ make collections constantly to survive and with the money he has abroad, he would have plenty to spend a lot of time ”, they comment from Pilar.
Owner of a charismatic and imposing personality, Llorente Martínez managed to get many of his faithful parishioners to allocate donations to his foundation and continued to forge ties with them. Thus his power grew. “In addition to having been in charge of the Tortugas church, he is the spiritual director of the Moorlands College, which is the richest college in Pilar,” they add. Llorente Martínez is more than just a priest. He launders money, he has accounts abroad and is on the board of a real estate agency. He is the business priest.
