Monsignor Ignacio Barreiro

Monsignor Ignacio Barreiro served as Executive Director of Human Life International’s (HLI) office in Rome, and was interim President of HLI from 2010-2011. He departed this life on Holy Thursday, April 13, 2017.

From the beginning of his priestly ministry, Monsignor Barreiro was involved in the Pro-Life and Traditional Latin Mass apostolates. A priest with a great love for the sacred liturgy, he was ordained in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York November 14, 1987. He then received his licentiate and doctorate degree in Systematic Theology from the University of the Holy Cross, in Rome, Italy. Prior to ordination, he received a law degree from the Law School in Montevideo. He was also a member of the Uruguayan Foreign Service and of the delegation of Uruguay to the United Nations.

Msgr. Barreiro became Executive Director of the Rome office of Human Life International in September, 1998. There he began an apostolate for priests and seminarians from all over the world studying in the Eternal City. He was appointed a Chaplain of His Holiness on March 26, 2004. Fr. Francesco Giordano, one-time student and a long-time friend of Monsignor Barreiro, now directs the Rome office in his footsteps.

Msgr. Barreiro published hundreds of articles on theological and life issues in his lifetime, as well as on historical subjects, in popular and scholarly publications in the U.S., England, Italy, France, and Spain. Some of his favored speaking topics included:

  • “Bioethics and the Catholic Church”
  • “The Catholic Family”
  • “What it Means to be a Pro-Life Priest”
  • “Church Teaching on Population Control”

HLI mourns the loss of Monsignor Barreiro just as we celebrate his legacy and witness for Christ and His Church. We pray:

Fidelium animae, per misericordiam Dei, requiescant in pace. Amen. (May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace, Amen.)