Abbot Mamerto Menapace OSB
24 January 1942 – 6 June 2025

On Friday 6 June 2025, Abbot Mamerto Menapace OSB died at the Benedictine Monastery of Los Toldos (Province of Buenos Aires). Abbot Mamerto was a monk of the Abbey of Santa María de Los Toldos, where he had entered as a young oblate at the age of ten. He was 83 years old, with 65 years of monastic profession and 58 years as a priest. He served as Conventual Prior of his monastery from September 1974 and later as Abbot for twelve years, from June 1980 to May 1992. From 1995 to 2022, he was Abbot President of the Cono-Sur Congregation.

Abbot Mamerto was a guiding presence for the faithful of the Argentine Church. Everyone, without exception, knew his stories and reflections, which helped make present the tenderness and love of a merciful and close Jesus who calls and waits. His texts were often used in retreats and Church gatherings; the writings of this “gaucho priest” became part of the ecclesial landscape. Through the silent and fruitful rumination of lectio divina, and through his meditations on nature and the actions of ordinary people, he reflected the abiding presence of God who walks the journey alongside each of his children. For several years, every Saturday he offered a column on the programme Claves para un mundo mejor, broadcast on YouTube. In his final recording, made just a few days before his death, and without most people realising it, this “friend of all” was already saying farewell and asking for a prayer. Simplicity, everyday life, friendship with God, humour, and deep joy — these were some of the qualities found in his writings, always aimed at the heart. Today, social media is filled with personal stories featuring Mamerto as the protagonist, because he was that gentle touch to the soul who showed, taught, guided, and accompanied the faith journeys of countless people seeking a deeper encounter with Jesus and the spiritual life.

The bishops of the Argentine Episcopal Conference gave thanks to God for the witness and life of this monk. “His spiritual wisdom, expressed through stories and tales in which he wove together the depth of the Gospel with the simple expressions of our people, enabled many brothers and sisters to come to know and delve more deeply into the new life that springs from faith,” they wrote in their message.