Clemente Serna, who was abbot of the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos (Burgos) and a fundamental figure in the popularization of Gregorian chant, has died at the age of 76 due to a long illness, as confirmed by the provincial archdiocese.
Father Serna, born in the Burgos town of Montorio in 1946 and ordained a priest in 1971, was abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos between 1989 and 2012. During his period as head of the Silense monastery, he promoted “great worldwide recognition as center of evangelization and cultural focus, turning its Gregorian chant into an international emblem”.
Regional authorities have also recognized the figure of Serna. “Castilla y León will always be in debt to Dom Clemente, who turned the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos into a religious, artistic and cultural center of the first national and international magnitude. My deepest condolences to his family, friends and the Order of San Benito â€, regional president Alfonso Fernández Mañueco has tweeted.
The monks of the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos rose to fame in the 1990s, after the publication of the album The Best Works of Gregorian Chant. The album was a sales success and the divine song spread through the charts of musical successes in our country and was even heard in nightclubs, with remix compositions, according to local media recalls.
Serna, who will be buried this Saturday in the Silense abbey at 12:00 noon, has died in the Montserrat priory in Madrid, where he was convalescing due to the long illness he had suffered for several years.
From the abbey, they have asked “prayers in these difficult times” for all members of the monastic community and have asked “the Lord to grant him the prize for a life totally dedicated to him.”
