A graduate of the Union Theological Seminary of Buenos Aires, Pagura pursued post-graduate studies in the USA. He holds a Dr Honoris causa degree from the University of Toronto, Canada and from dePauw University, USA.

Pagura has served as president of the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) and of the Council of Methodist Bishops in the Latin America and the Caribbean. A bishop emeritus of the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina, Pagura is also a member of the board of the Life & Peace Institute of Uppsala, Sweden.

A former member of the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, Pagura was elected a president of the WCC by the Harare assembly in 1998. He is a writer, poet and composer of songs.