The community originated in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where its founder, Braschi, was born in 1941. He was ordained as a priest of the Roman Catholic Church in 1966. He embarked upon the early years of his priesthood against the backdrop of the political turbulence and social upheavals of Latin America in the 1960s and the repressive "National Security" governments of the 1970s. The radical stance of Braschi and his companions dates back to this time, when they were associated with the Movement of Priests for the Third World (MSTM), itself boasting radical left-wing and Peronist factions. Braschi was arrested for political reasons during the Dirty War.