Lorenzo Albacete
Encyclopedia
Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete (born January 7, 1941), a Roman Catholic priest, is an American theologian, scientist and author. A New York Times Magazine contributor, Albacete is one of the leaders in the United States for the international Catholic movement Communion and Liberation
. He is the Chairman of the Board of Advisors of Crossroads Cultural Center
.
and is a physicist by training. He holds a degree in Space Science and Applied Physics as well as a Master's degree in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
He holds a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas in Rome. He has taught at the John Paul II Institute in Washington, D.C., and the St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y., and from 1996 to 1997 served as President of Catholic University of Puerto Rico in Ponce
. He has been advisor on Hispanic Affairs to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
In 1968 he read then Joseph Ratzinger's
"Introduction to Christianity" and found himself moved from atheism to faith.
He is a columnist for the Italian weekly Tempi, has written for The New Yorker
, and has appeared or has been interviewed on CNN
, The Charlie Rose Show, PBS
, EWTN, Slate
, The New Republic
, and Godspy
, where he is the theological advisor.
In 2010, Monsignor Albacete’s commentary was featured in the award-winning documentary film, The Human Experience
.
Monsignor Albacete lives in Yonkers, N.Y.
As Hendrik Hertzberg
(The New Yorker
) has noted: "Lorenzo Albacete is one of a kind, and so is God at the Ritz. The book, like the monsignor, crackles with humor, warmth, and intellectual excitement. Reading it is like having a stay-up-all-night, jump-out-of-your-chair, have-another-double-espresso marathon conversation with one of the world's most swashbuckling talkers. Conversation, hell-this is a Papal bull session!"
Theodore Edgar McCarrick, Cardinal Archbishop of Washington wrote of the book: "Monsignor Albacete has a keen insight into the mystery of God and a wonderful sense of humor even when he is speaking about very heavy subjects. Perhaps it is precisely this sense of humor-and wonder-that brings people of all faiths to Msgr. Albacete's writings to find there a source of goodness and strength."
Communion and Liberation
Communion and Liberation, or CL, is a lay ecclesial movement within the Catholic Church.-Overview:CL grew out of the educational and catechetical methods of Msgr. Luigi Giussani, who founded the movement...
. He is the Chairman of the Board of Advisors of Crossroads Cultural Center
Crossroads Cultural Center
Crossroads Cultural Center is a non-profit cultural organization established in New York in 2004 at the initiative of members of Communion and Liberation, the international movement in the Roman Catholic Church that was founded in Italy by Father Luigi Giussani...
.
Biography
Albacete was born in Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and is a physicist by training. He holds a degree in Space Science and Applied Physics as well as a Master's degree in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
He holds a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas in Rome. He has taught at the John Paul II Institute in Washington, D.C., and the St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y., and from 1996 to 1997 served as President of Catholic University of Puerto Rico in Ponce
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
. He has been advisor on Hispanic Affairs to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
In 1968 he read then Joseph Ratzinger's
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
"Introduction to Christianity" and found himself moved from atheism to faith.
He is a columnist for the Italian weekly Tempi, has written for The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, and has appeared or has been interviewed on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, The Charlie Rose Show, PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, EWTN, Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
, The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
, and Godspy
Godspy
Godspy is an English-language online magazine "for Catholics and other seekers" launched in 2003, dealing with subjects from "politics to the arts, science to the economy, sexuality to ecology," and exploring the "ideas and experiences that reveal God’s presence in the world." The magazines name...
, where he is the theological advisor.
In 2010, Monsignor Albacete’s commentary was featured in the award-winning documentary film, The Human Experience
The Human Experience
The Human Experience is a documentary film, produced by Grassroots Films, which tells the story of and his travels, as he searches for answers to the question: what does it mean to be human? The film is divided into the three experiences, which take Jeffrey and his friends to New York, to Peru,...
.
Monsignor Albacete lives in Yonkers, N.Y.
Publications
Beside columns and articles on a number of American and international publications, Albacete is the author of God at the Ritz: Attraction to Infinity (Crossroad Publishing Company), a book in which as priest-physicist he talks about science, sex, politics, and religion.As Hendrik Hertzberg
Hendrik Hertzberg
Hendrik Hertzberg is an American journalist, best known as the principal political commentator for The New Yorker magazine. He has also been a speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter and editor of The New Republic, and is the author of ¡Obámanos! The Rise of a New Political Era and Politics:...
(The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
) has noted: "Lorenzo Albacete is one of a kind, and so is God at the Ritz. The book, like the monsignor, crackles with humor, warmth, and intellectual excitement. Reading it is like having a stay-up-all-night, jump-out-of-your-chair, have-another-double-espresso marathon conversation with one of the world's most swashbuckling talkers. Conversation, hell-this is a Papal bull session!"
Theodore Edgar McCarrick, Cardinal Archbishop of Washington wrote of the book: "Monsignor Albacete has a keen insight into the mystery of God and a wonderful sense of humor even when he is speaking about very heavy subjects. Perhaps it is precisely this sense of humor-and wonder-that brings people of all faiths to Msgr. Albacete's writings to find there a source of goodness and strength."
External links
- The Charlie Rose Show, a conversation with Reynolds Price, Gardner Taylor & Lorenzo Albacete about Jesus Christ.
- PBS Interview to Lorenzo Albacete: Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero
- Slate-Meaningoflife: Robert Wright interviews Lorenzo Albacete
- New York Times Op-Ed: "For The Love of God"
- Crossroads Cultural Center