English  |  Español  |  中文

“For having made the Silos Monastery a center for culture and spiritual reflection, beyond religious beliefs. For his great contribution to thought linked to human values and its roots; for the universal dimension of his extensive and rich work, which advocates an open dialogue with respect for pluralism and tolerance.”

According to the Jury met in Valladolid, Spain (July 3^rd, 2009), Chaired by: Mr. Demetrio Madrid López, First President of the Junta de Castilla y León [Regional Government of Castilla Leon], Councillor and President of the 2^nd Session of the Consultative Council of Castilla León, and made up by the following members: Mr. Manuel Erice Oronoz, Deputy Editor of ABC Newspaper and ABC.es; Mr. Natalio Grueso Rodríguez, Director-General of the Niemeyer Center Foundation; Mr. Jesús Núñez Velázquez, President of the Alfonso X el Sabio University; and Mr. Angelo Pantaleoni Pinzi, Cultural Attaché in Rome for the Directorate General for Cultural Promotion and Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

CLEMENTE SERNA GONZÁLEZ - Biography

Clemente Serna González was born in Montorio (Burgos, Spain) on the 27th December 1946. In 1957 he started his studies at the Burgos Seminary. However, in 1960 he moved to the Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey, where he combined intellectual and monastic education. He studied philosophy and theology in Silos and in the Saint Pierre de Solesmes Abbey in France.

Between 1973 and 1984 he was Secretary of the Spanish Society for Monastic Study. He was also Master of Novices at the San Paolo Fuori le Mura Abbey in Rome between 1980 and 1984. He holds a Doctorate Degree in Sacred Patristic-Monastic Theology from the Sant Anselmo Pontifical Athenaeum in Rome (1976-1983).

He also has Diplomas in Archives, Palaeography, Diplomatic Work and Library Work from the Vatican Secret Archives (1978-1979), as well as in Christian Archaeology from the Pontifical Archaeological Institute of Rome (1977).

Since 1987 he has taught Spiritual Theology courses in Rome and at the Theology Faculty of the north of Spain, based in Burgos.

He has been Abbey Parish Priest of the Silos Abbey since 1985. In 1988 he was appointed Abbot of Silos. Father Abbot Clemente is also a founding member of the Groupe de Chevetogne (1992), whose aim is to reflect on the soul of Europe. He is also a the main Counsellor and Visitor of the Benedictine Congregation of Solesmes (France), which has monastic communities on three continents.

In 1999 he set up the Friends of Silos Association to help achieve social, cultural and artistic aims.

Furthermore, in 1990, he launched a School-Workshop, dedicated to training unemployed youth who managed to restore the San Francisco de Silos Convent from its demise and ruins (1990-1996). In 2002, he set up the Silos Foundation, of which he is Honorary President. Its aim is to create a Forum for thought and open dialogue on pluralism and tolerance.

Among the publications by the Abbot (including over 200 books, book chapters, articles or studies) we can highlight: La cuaresma y la vida monástica benedictina [Lent and the Benedictine Monastic Life] (1985), Para encontrar a Dios [To find God] (1995), Orar con María [Praying with Mary] (1999), along with numerous other journal articles. As Editor, the Abbot has published the collections "Studia Silensia" (36 vols. published since 1975), Scriptorium Silense (14 vols. since 1998) and since 1990, the quarterly magazine Glosas Silenses.