José Fernández Lago

Category: Theologian and writer. Santiago de Compostela Cathedral Dean
Birth Date: 12th October 1944
Birth Place: Carril - Vilagarcía de Arousa (Pontevedra)
 Curriculum

He studied Secondary Education and Teaching (first year) at 'León XIII' School in Vilagarcía de Arousa, taking his exams as an independent candidate at the Secondary School of Pontevedra. He entered the Seminary in Santiago in 1961 and was ordained as a priest on 23rd July 1967. He took a doctor's degree in Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome with the doctoral thesis La montaña en las homilías de orígenes. He took a degree in Holy Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and the French Biblical and Archaeological School in Jerusalem. He was a teacher and vice-rector of the Seminary in Santiago from 1973 up to 1985. Since 1979, he has been a canon at Santiago's Cathedral and chaplain at the Benedictine Monastery 'San Paio de Antealtares' since 1993. Since 1990, he has been teaching New Testament at the Theological Institute of Santiago de Compostela, where he has also been general secretary and director of the Holy Scripture Department. Besides, he has directed the Centre of Theological Formation for Laymen since 1999, where he has taught New Testament at Santiago, A Coruña and Pontevedra sees. He has also taught Synoptic Gospels at the Centre of Religious Sciences (Santiago de Compostela), dependent on the Theological Institute. He has been a lecturer on several occasions and is a member of the Spanish Biblical Association and the Catholic Biblical Association of America.

Since February 2021 he is the Dean of the Cathedral of Santiago.

 Work & Activities

PUBLICATIONS: -Introducción Xeral á Biblia, Introducción Xeral ó antigo Testamento, Introducción Xeral ó Novo Testamento; Introducción, traducción en notas a Xosué, Xuíces, Ruth, Xoán, 2Cor, Ef e 1-2Tes; Coordinación xeral de A Biblia, 'SEPT' Publications, Vigo 1989. Revision of the first edition in A Biblia, 'SEPT' Publications, Vigo, 1992. -Introducción Xeral ó Novo Testamento; Introducción, traducción e notas a Xoán, 2 Cor, Ef e 1-2 Tes; Revisión e Índices de O Novo Testamento, 'SEPT' Publications, 1998. -El Espíritu Santo en el mundo de la Biblia, Santiago de Compostela, 1998. -Nueva interpretación de la Biblia a partir de los Documentos de Qumrán, A Coruña, 1998. -Santiago, amigo del Señor, en el Nuevo Testamento. Colaboración en el Catálogo Santiago. A Esperanza, Santiago, 1999. -Vida y novena de San Benito, Santiago de Compostela, 2000. - Semana Santa, Pascua y su Octava: el camino de la vida, Santiago de Compostela 2002. ARTICLES: -'El creyente y la montaña en las homilías de Orígenes', Compostellanum XXXVII (1992), I-II, pages 29-62. -'Deja a los muertos que entierren a sus muertos', Compostellanum XL, 1-2 (1995), pages 7-27. -'Fuego he venido a traer a la tierra (Lc 12, 49-53). II. En Orígenes', Compostellanum XLIII (1998), pages 248-264. -'El Jubileo en la Biblia y en la Iglesia', Tertium Millennium, II, 2 (1998), pages 31-37. 'Fuego he venido a traer a la tierra' (Lc 12, 49-53). 'Estudio bíblico', Estudios Bíblicos, LVII, 1-4 (1999), pages 239-255. -'Nova Biblia en Galego. Antología de textos', in 'Revista Catalana de Teología' XIV (1989), 395-407. -'Si me olvido de ti, Jerusalén...: Nostalgias y esperanzas', in 'Reseña Bíblica' nº 8, pages 55-61. 'Del 1179 al "pórtico del 2000". Annuario Iubilantes', Como 1998, pages 36-38. 'L'Altro Giubileo. Storia e significazione del Giubileo Compostellano, Annuario Iubilantes', Como 1999-2000, pages 36-43.

 Other Interesting Aspects

He got several prizes such as the National Translation Prize (1990) and 'Galego do mes de Febreiro' (1993', awarded by the newspaper El Correo Gallego, both of them for his translation of the Bible into Galician. He took part in several ceremonies such as 'IV Fiesta de la Almeja de Carril' (1995); 'Semana Santa Compostelana', Santiago (1997); 'Novena a Santa Rita', Santiago (1996); 'Novena a Santiago Apóstol', Santiago (1997); 'Novena a San Roque', Santiago (1997); 'Novena a la Virgen del Carmen', Santiago (1997); 'Novena al Espíritu Santo', Santiago (1998), 'Novena a San Paio', Santiago (1999); 'Novena a San Antonio', Santiago (1999) and 'Novena en sufragio por los difuntos', Santiago (1999). Since September 1995, he has been writing a page every week for the newspaper El Correo Gallego and occasionaly other articles (El Correo Gallego and O Correo Galego).