Camila O'Gorman

Camila O'Gorman
Camila O'Gorman in 1848
Born	Maria Camila O'Gorman Ximénez 1827/1828 Merced, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died	18 August 1848 (aged 20) San Andrés, Buenos Aires Province
Nationality	Argentine

Maria Camila O'Gorman Ximénez (1827/1828 – 18 August 1848) was a 19th century Argentine socialite executed over a scandal involving her relationship with a Roman Catholic priest. She was 20 years old and eight months pregnant when she and Father Ladislao Gutiérrez faced a firing squad.

Camila was born in Merced, Buenos Aires, the youngest daughter of Adolfo O'Gorman y Perichón Vandeuil, and his wife, Joaquina Ximénez Pinto. She was the second-to-last of six children in an upper-class family of mixed Irish, French and Spanish descent. Typical of powerful families in Argentina's post-colonial era, two of her brothers went on to pursue reputable careers. One as an ordained priest of the Jesuit Order, and the other as a police officer and the eventual founder of the Buenos Aires Police Academy.

She was also the granddaughter of Ana Perichon de O'Gorman (1776-1847), renowned lover of the Viceroy of the La Plata Santiago de Liniers, First Count of Buenos Aires. As the first British invasion occurred, Liniers was part of the defence of Buenos Aires. For heroic actions in defence of the city, Santiago de Liniers was appointed Military Governor of Buenos Aires, and Perichon de O'Gorman became the unofficial first lady. Her importance and power led to accusations intended to discredit her, including allegations that she was a spy for the French or the English. After Liniers died in 1810 she retired to a quieter life with her sons and died peacefully in 1847, at the age of 72.

In 1847 Argentina was governed by Juan Manuel de Rosas, a General of the Argentine Army and a politician. Rosas governed the Argentine Confederation by decree from 1829-52. Camila was considered a pillar of polite society, a close friend and confidante of Rosas' daughter, Manuelita, and a frequent guest at the Governors Residence. In her late teens, Camila was introduced to Father Ladislao Gutiérrez, a Jesuit priest who had attended seminary with her brother.

At the time, the Society of Jesus was the only institution within Argentina's Catholic Church which continued to speak out against Rosas' police state tactics. This led Rosas to later banish the Jesuits from Argentina. Father Gutiérrez came from a similar background; his uncle was the Provincial Governor of Tucumán, . Father Gutiérrez had been assigned as the parish priest of Nuestra Señora del Socorro (Our Lady of Relief) and was frequently invited to the O'Gorman family's estate. They soon began a clandestine affair.