Romana

On October 7, the University of Navarra honored Professor Antonio Fontán, who died on January 14, 2010. He was president of the Senate in the first legislative session of the Constituent Cortes and one of the signers, along with the King, of the 1978 Constitution. The ceremony honored a professional life filled with academic and social accomplishments, including the creation of the Institute of Journalism at Pamplona (the present School of Communications). During his lifetime he was recognized as a “Hero of the Freedom of the Press,” receiving an award from the International Press Institute. Various speakers pointed to the Christian humanism permeating Fontán’s life and work. The rector of the University of Navarra, Ángel J. Gomez-Montoro, in closing the ceremony, emphasized the generosity with which Antonio Fontán had served his country through “his unique and multi-faceted gifts in the realm of the university, journalism and politics.”

All the interventions from this academic ceremony are collected in: Yolanda Cagigas Ocejo (coordinator), Academic Ceremony in memory of Prof. Antonio Fontán, Madrid, University of Navarra — Marqués de Guadalcanal Foundation. Another publication related to this commemoration is the collection of letters between Antonio Fontán and Agustin Lopez Kindler, between 1989 and 1909, under the title: Antonio Fontán, confidencias y afanes de madurez, Madrid, Marqués de Guadalcanal Foundation - University of Navarra, Eduardo Fernandez (editor), 2011.