There are people who do not make noise, but leave light. Those who pass through the community as one who waters without raising their voice: with constancy, with tenderness, with fidelity. That is how Friar Segundo Garnica Lozano, Augustinian Recollect, was for many of us, who on January 22, 2026, gave his life to the Lord in the monastery of Monteagudo (Navarra, Spain), at 98 years of age, as a result of cardiorespiratory arrest.
He was born in Nájera (La Rioja) on December 19, 1927, and from a very young age he felt that his path was in the house and in the school of the Gospel. At 13 years of age, he entered the apostolic school of Lodosa, and later lived his novitiate in Monteagudo. There, on September 29, 1945, he professed for the first time, and on January 30, 1949, in Marcilla, he made his solemn profession.
Those who lived with him remember that his vocation was never an isolated gesture, but a way of being: austere, humble, with a compassionate heart, close and affectionate with people. He had that unpretentious kindness that makes fraternity possible. And perhaps that is why he was so loved, both when he taught and when he accompanied.
Teacher for decades, man of reading and meaning
His evangelizing service unfolded in two fields that, in him, were not separate: teaching and pastoral ministry. He was a professor for 33 years: three in Fuenterrabía, twenty-nine in Lodosa and one in the Romareda (Zaragoza) school. He only interrupted that period for two years as chaplain at the military air base of Valenzuela (Zaragoza).
He liked philosophical arguments—especially those that help to give meaning to life—and he faithfully lived his ongoing formation, especially through reading. He read theology, philosophy, religious life, lives of saints… and conversed with competence and enthusiasm. He had a spirit free and open to novelty, like someone who knows that the truth does not fear the light.
Pastor with a merciful heart
In 1990 he began a decisive stage: he was sent as parochial vicar to Getafe (Madrid), where he remained for 17 years. He himself said that those years in the parish Nuestra Señora de Buenavista had been “the best” of his life.
His pastoral style is described with a word that in the Gospel is a program: mercy. He understood—and practiced—that of Jesus of putting people above the rules. He dreamed of a renewed and outgoing Church, convinced of the importance of going out to meet and dialogue with people in the street.
He had a special sensitivity for families, young people, the sick and the poor; he took particular care of the gypsies and those who came to the services of Cáritas. He was available to listen and accompany, because he knew that many times the first work of mercy is, simply, to lend an ear and time.
Brother of community: good humor and daily fidelity
When in August 2017 he returned to Monteagudo, he remained the same: a brother who did not seek to stand out, but to serve and create a good atmosphere. He contributed to community harmony with good humor, fraternal dialogue, faithful presence in prayer and in common moments. Holiness, in him, had a lot of “day to day” well lived.
Today we do not publish a sad farewell. We publish, rather, a thank you: for a long and fruitful life, for a vocation sustained in the small things, for a dedication that taught without imposing and accompanied without tiring. And we entrust him to the faithful and merciful God, so that he may receive him in his dwelling and grant him light and eternal life.
Lord, receive your servant Friar Segundo and make us live, like him, the simplicity of the Gospel and the joy of serving. Amen.
