Alberto René Methol Ferré (

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, 31 March 1929 – 15 November 2009) was a Uruguayan thinker, writer, journalist, teacher, historian and theologian. He has been described as one of Latin America's most fertile and original thinkers.

Biography

Alberto Methol Ferré was born in Montevideo in 1929. He first studied in the Liceo Francés de Montevideo and then Law and Philosophy in the

Universidad de la República The University of the Republic (, sometimes ''UdelaR'') is a public research university in Montevideo, Uruguay. It is the country's oldest and largest university, as well as one of the largest public universities in South America in terms of en ...

. He was professor of Latin American History, of Contemporary History and of Theory of History in the University of Montevideo and in the Instituto Artigas de Servicio Exterior. He founded and coordinated the magazine ''Nexo'' (1955–1958, 1983–1989), he also worked for the magazine ''Víspera'' between 1967 and 1975. He was active in the political Uruguayan landscape. He collaborated with

Luis Alberto de Herrera Luis Alberto de Herrera (Montevideo, 22 July 1873 – 8 April 1959) was a Uruguayan lawyer, diplomat, journalist and politician. Political and diplomatic roles A national leader of great importance during the first half of the 20th century, he ...

; he worked in the agrarian movement with

Benito Nardone Benito Nardone Cetrulo (November 22, 1906 – March 25, 1964) was a Uruguayan journalist and political figure. Biography Nardone was born at Montevideo, the son of an Italian immigrant. For many years he was a popular radio commentator at CX 4 ...

; In the sixties he was involved in the leftish political party Unión Popular led by

Enrique Erro Enrique Erro (1912–1984) was a Uruguayan politician belonging to the National Party. He began his political activity as a journalist in newspapers such as ''El Debate'' and ''La Tribuna Popular''. A minister of the first National Party govern ...

; he was also an assistant of

Líber Seregni Líber Seregni Mosquera (13 December 1916 – 31 July 2004) was a Uruguayan military officer and politician. In his youth he was a member of the Colorado Party. Under successive governments of that party, he had a successful military career ...

in the Broad Front. He was a staunch supporter of

Juan Domingo Perón ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philip ...

and he considered himself more a rioplatense historian than a Uruguayan or an Argentinian one. Between 1975 and 1992 he took part in a pastoral reflection team of the

Latin American Episcopal Conference The Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (; ), better known as CELAM, is a council of the Catholic bishops in Latin America, created in 1955 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is based in Bogotá, Colombia. Early history From July 25 to A ...

, he was secretary for the laypeople and created courses of the Catholic Church History in Latin America between 1977 and 1982 in

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

and in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

(

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

). He was also member of the Pontificio Consejo para los Laicos between 1980 and 1984. His father was an agnostic and Methol just converted to Catholicism when 19. When young he was heavily influenced by the

Generation of '98 The Generation of '98 () was a group of novelists, poets, essayists, and philosophers active in Spain at the time of the Spanish–American War (1898), committed to cultural and aesthetic renewal, and associated with modernismo. The name was coin ...

. He was awarded by Argentina with the

Order of May Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...

. In 2007 he published a book with an interview by Alver Metalli which was introduced by then Archbishop of Buenos Aires and later pope

Jorge Mario Bergoglio Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until his death in 2025. He was the first Jesuit pope, the first Latin A ...

. Bergoglio adhered to his idea of "libertine atheism". He died in Montevideo in 2009. According to one author, he was an influence in the thought of

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

Works

*''La Crisis del Uruguay y el Imperio Británico'' (Editorial A. Peña Lillo, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 1959) *''

El Uruguay como problema EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...

'' (Editorial Diálogo, Montevideo, Uruguay. 1967)
''La Conquista Espiritual''
(Enciclopedia Uruguaya, Nº 5, Editores Unidos y Arca, Montevideo, Uruguay. 1968)
''Las Corrientes Religiosas''
(Colección Nuestra Tierra, Nº 35, Nuestra Tierra, Montevideo, Uruguay. 1969) *''El Risorgimiento Católico Latinoamericano'' *''Perón y la alianza argentino-brasileña'' (2000) *''La América Latina del siglo XXI'' (Entrevista realizada por el periodista y escritor italiano

Alver Metalli Alver may refer to: People * Alver (surname) Places * Alver Municipality, a municipality in Vestland county, Norway * Alver, Norway Alver is a village in Alver municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the mainland o ...

. Publicada por Edhasa, marzo. 2006)

References

Links

Sitio oficial de Alberto Methol Ferré
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Methol Ferre, Alberto Writers from Montevideo 1929 births 2009 deaths Uruguayan educators Uruguayan male writers 20th-century Uruguayan philosophers Uruguayan theologians 20th-century Uruguayan historians Uruguayan Roman Catholics 20th-century Roman Catholic theologians Liberation theologians