Papal Delegates Announce Results of Investigation into the Founder of the Institute of the Incarnate Word

(ZENIT News / Rome, 09.25.2026).- The Pontifical Delegates for the Institute of the Incarnate Word and the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará convened the Provincial Superiors of both Institutes for a meeting held in Rome on September 14, 2026. Representatives from the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life were also present.

During the meeting, it was reported that both the Special Penal Tribunal of first instance and the appellate tribunal — constituted by the competent Church authority — reached moral certainty regarding the culpability of Father Carlos Miguel Buela, Founder of both Institutes, for the commission of a crime against the Sixth Commandment,  perpetrated with violence against several persons, in accordance with Canon 1395 § 2.

This clarification is intended to help restore the truth as an act of justice toward those harmed by the conduct of the priest Carlos Miguel Buela, as well as to ensure the proper informing of the members of both Institutes. It also aims to support the process of re-examining the charism and reviewing, renewing, and purifying the spirituality, formation, and apostolate specific to each Institute, distinguishing between the gift of the Spirit granted for the edification of the Church and the limitations or personal actions of the Founder.

Sister Clara Echarte Oñate, FI

Pontifical Delegate, SSVM

+ José Antonio Satué Huerto

Pontifical Delegate, IVE

Sister Simona Brambilla, M.C.

Prefect

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Father Carlos Miguel Buela was born on April 4, 1941, in the Federal Capital, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was baptized at the church of San Bartolomé on October 5, 1941.

He undertook his seminary formation at the Metropolitan Major Seminary of Buenos Aires, in Villa Devoto, and at the Archdiocesan Major Seminary of Rosario.

He was ordained a priest on October 7, 1971, in the crypt of the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes of Santos Lugares, Buenos Aires. He exercised his ministry as a diocesan priest in various Argentine dioceses.

In 1984, he moved to the Diocese of San Rafael, Argentina, with the authorization of Monsignor León Kruk, to undertake an experience of religious life. On March 25, 1984, he founded the Institute of the Incarnate Word, together with a group of seminarians and priests. On March 19, 1988, he founded the Institute of the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará. He served as Superior General of the IVE for three terms: 1988-1994, 2001-2007, and 2007-2010.

He passed away on April 23, 2023, at the age of 82, in the city of Genoa, Italy.

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Carlos Miguel Buela, Founder of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, was formally accused and removed from his duties in 2010 following an ecclesiastical investigation into allegations of sexual abuse and abuse of power involving seminarians.

Chronology:

Year 2010: The Catholic Church removed and suspended him after receiving the first serious allegations of abuse and manipulation.

December 2016: The Vatican formally acknowledged the charges against him, keeping him confined in Italy and cut off from communication with the Congregation.

Year 2021: A Holy See ecclesiastical tribunal found him guilty at first instance of abusing several members of the Institute.

April 23, 2023: He died in Italy at the age of 82, without facing ordinary civil justice.

September 2026: The Vatican and the Congregation itself officially confirmed that ecclesiastical appellate tribunals had upheld the finding of his guilt regarding violent offenses against the Sixth Commandment.