Fernando de Toro-Garland, former Grand Prior of Spain and Pillar of the Temple

In Memory of Fernando de Toro-Garland, Pillar of the Temple

It’s with great sadness that in this Pentecost Celebration (May 20th, 2017),  the Order mourns the passing of our beloved Brother and former Grand Prior of Spain, Fernando de Toro-Garland.

We have indeed lost one of the brightest and most brilliant lights that has shone in our Temple in the last few decades. To the widow, our beloved Sister Patricia Oyarzun, a true life companion and tireless supporter – without whom Fr+ Fernando’s love for the Order and talent as a prolific author would not become so accomplished – our condolences and respect.

Fernando de Toro-Garland counted among his closest friends our own Regent, Dr. Nicolas Haimovici Hastier, our Grand Prior of Portugal, +Fr Luis Matos, and our National Marshal, General Ronald Mangum.

Fernando was born in 1925 in Santiago do Chile. In 1946 he would complete one of his many Degrees in subjects such as Humanities, Philosophy and Law, becoming a member of the Illustrious Bar Association in Madrid in 1957 and later on college professor in Literature and Law in many universities (Virginia, Columbia, Rutgers, Pontifícia Universidad Católica, UNED, etc.). In his later years he was still very active, as professor in the Department of English, Film and Theatre at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He was for five years Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies in the same university (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada).

As an author, he published in diverse fields: literary theory, semiotics, comparative literature, post-modernity and post-coloniality, Latin American literature and Western Literatures.

Some of his many publications include:

Brecht en el teatro latinoamericano contemporáneo (Ottawa: Girol, 1984; Buenos Aires: Editorial Galerna, 1987)
Semiótica del teatro (Buenos Aires, Galerna, 1987)
Theatre Semiotics (Toronto/Frankfurt am Main: Toronto University Press and Vervuert Verlag, 1995)
Intersecciones (Frankfurt am Main, Vervuert Verlag, 1999)
Explorations in Post-Theory (Frankfurt am Main, Vervuert Verlag, 1999)
Borders and Margins (Frankfurt am Main, Vervuert Verlag, 1999)
New Intersections (Frankfurt am Main, Vervuert Verlag)
Intersecciones II (Buenos Aires: Galerna, 2002).
Semiotica del Teatro, Nueva edicion revisada y aumentada, 2010 Intersecciones III (Buenos Aires, Galerna, 2012) Inter

He has published over one hundred refereed articles and delivered over four hundred lectures and international seminars.