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José Ramón Villar Saldaña,, Director of department of Systematic Theology

Teacher and friend

Sun, 16 Feb 2014 09:36:00 +0000 Published in La Razón

Professor Lucas Francisco Mateo-Seco passed away yesterday after a few months of illness. Those of us who were able to visit him at the Clínica University of Navarra during this last time that God has granted him, we were always stimulated by his serenity, affection and good humor.

Don Paco, as he was known among students and colleagues, was one of the professors, the youngest at the time, who started the School of Theology at the University of Navarra. University of Navarra in 1967. For twenty-three years he was a member of its board Board of Directors and teacher of generations of students. He carried out a B work of theological research , as his publications and the awards received in Spain and abroad testify. Especially dear to him was the task of directing for many years the scientific journal of the School, Scripta Theologica, which dedicated a monographic issue to him on the occasion of his retirement in 2006. In these pages the scope of his human, priestly and academic figure is described.
In these few paragraphs it is impossible to give news of a long and intense academic life, which was awarded with the Gold Medal of the University of Navarra in 2008. I would like to highlight a facet of Professor Mateo Seco that always surprised me during my years at Dean of School. I am referring to his permanent availability selflessness in taking on tasks, whether brilliant or silent, with unusual diligence and efficiency. It became proverbial in the academic staff the saying of a colleague: "Paco never says no to what is asked of him and, moreover.... He does it! His overflowing affection for his colleagues, students and disciples was touching, as well as his accurate committee and patient dedication to the young professors who later succeeded him in teaching. His unbelievable industriousness was exemplary. Those of us who have had the grace of the Lord to share so many moments with him, we know that these words are not conventional courtesies.
 
Naturally, the figure of Professor Mateo-Seco would not be understood apart from his desire to serve the Church. He never wanted his life to be anything other than a priest, and that all his activities should be priestly, even in his theological work. He decidedly wanted his academic task to be a humble and effective way of putting the theological service to the Word of God, as a way of serving the Church, on internship . Both things, love for the Church and submission for the priesthood, strongly marked his life over the years, especially through his closeness to the person of St. Josemaría Escrivá and the experience of his spiritual message. The School of Theology will always owe an unpayable debt to those who, like Professor Mateo-Seco, laid solid foundations for this academic institution. Thank you, Don Paco: may the Lord reward your love and submission!
 

SEVILLIAN BY BIRTH, NAVARRESE BY VOCATION
Professor Mateo-Seco was ordained a priest in Seville (the province of his birth) in 1959. He graduated in Theology in Salamanca and obtained his doctorate at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas "Angelicum" of Rome in Salamanca. After a period as parish priest and later professor at seminar in Seville, he moved to Pamplona in 1967, where he began his long career as professor in Navarra. He retired in 2006. He is the author of about a hundred books and scientific papers in international publications. Among others, he gave courses in Rome, Brasilia, Porto Alegre, Mexico and Bogota.