Lorenzo Albacete Cintrón (January 7, 1941 – October 24, 2014) was a Puerto Rican theologian,

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest, scientist and author. A

New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazin ...

contributor, Albacete was one of the leaders in the United States for the international Catholic movement

Communion and Liberation Communion and Liberation (, often shortened to CL), since 1980 officially Fraternity of Communion and Liberation (), it is an international Catholic movement founded in 1954 by Fr. Luigi Giussani as Student Youth (), with the aim of presentin ...

. He was the Chairman of the Board of Advisors of Crossroads Cultural Center.

Biography

Albacete was born in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

, and was a physicist by training. He held a degree in Space Science and Applied Physics as well as a master's degree in Sacred Theology from the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

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Albacete wrote for ''Triumph'' Magazine in Washington, D.C., from 1969 to 1972 and taught theology in El Escorial, Spain from 1970-1972 at The Christian Commonwealth Institute. Albacete was ordained to the priesthood in 1972 for the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington The Archdiocese of Washington () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church for the District of Columbia and several Maryland counties in the United States. The Archdiocese of Washington is home to the Ca ...

. He held a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He taught at the

John Paul II Institute The Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family is a Catholic research institution at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. The institute is devoted to the study of the truth about the human person in all ...

, and the St. Joseph Seminary in

Yonkers Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

, N.Y., and from 1996 to 1997 served as President of

Catholic University of Puerto Rico The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico) is a private Roman Catholic university with its main campus in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It provides courses leading to Bachelor's, Master's and Doct ...

in Ponce. He was advisor on Hispanic Affairs to the

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. He was a columnist for the Italian weekly ''Tempi'', wrote for ''

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'', and appeared or was interviewed on

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, ''

The Charlie Rose Show ''Charlie Rose'' (also known as ''The Charlie Rose Show'') is an American television interview and talk show, with Charlie Rose as executive producer, executive editor, and host. The show was syndicated on PBS from 1991 until 2017 and is owne ...

'',

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EWTN The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) is an American basic cable television network which presents around-the-clock Catholic programming. It is the largest Catholic television network in America, and is purported to be "the world's larges ...

, ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

'', ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'', and ''

Godspy ''Godspy'' is a dormant 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 ...

'', where he was the theological advisor. In 2010, Albacete's commentary was featured in the award-winning documentary film, '' The Human Experience''. Albacete lived in

, N.Y. He died on October 23, 2014, in

Dobbs Ferry, New York Dobbs Ferry is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 10,875 according to the 2010 United States Census. In 2021, its population rose to an estimated 11,456. The ...

. He was buried at Cementerio Porta Coeli in

Bayamón, Puerto Rico Bayamón (, ) is a Bayamón barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico. Located on the northeastern coastal plain, it is bounded by Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Guaynabo to the east, Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, Toa A ...

.Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete, Friend of Prelates and Dictators, dies at 73
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Publications

Beside columns and articles on a number of American and international publications, Albacete was 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.

Hendrik Hertzberg Hendrik Hertzberg (born July 23, 1943) 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 ...

(''

'') 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!"

Bibliography

* ''God at the Ritz: Attraction to Infinity''. NY: Crossroad, 2002. . *

References

External links

The Charlie Rose Show, a conversation with Reynolds Price, Gardner Taylor & Lorenzo Albacete about Jesus Christ

* ttp://meaningoflife.tv/video.php?speaker=albacete&topic=complete Slate-Meaningoflife: Robert Wright interviews Lorenzo Albacetebr>New York Times Op-Ed: "For The Love of God"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Albacete, Lorenzo 1941 births 2014 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests 20th-century American Roman Catholic theologians 20th-century Puerto Rican clergy 20th-century Puerto Rican male writers 20th-century Puerto Rican non-fiction writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American Roman Catholic priests 21st-century American Roman Catholic theologians 21st-century Puerto Rican clergy 21st-century Puerto Rican male writers 21st-century Puerto Rican non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers American religious writers American Roman Catholic writers Catholics from New York (state) Catholics from Washington, D.C. Catholic University of America alumni People from San Juan, Puerto Rico People from Yonkers, New York Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni Puerto Rican male non-fiction writers Puerto Rican Roman Catholic priests Religious leaders from Washington, D.C. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington Writers from New York (state) Writers from Washington, D.C.