Benedictine Brother Felix Martín Mencias Babian made his final vows July 11 to Benedictine Abbot Douglas Mullin and the monks of Saint John’s Abbey.
Brother Félix was born on July 19, 1980, and raised in Pico de Orizaba in Veracruz, Mexico. He obtained a degree in philosophy at the Instituto de Estudios Superiores “Rafael Guízar Valencia” of the Archdiocesan Seminary of Xalapa, and later studied for two years for a master’s in philosophy and social sciences at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente in Guadalajara, Jalisco. He studied theology at the Instituto de Formación Teológica Intercongregacional de México.
Before coming to Saint John’s Abbey, Brother Félix taught at several Catholic-inspired preparatory schools, including the preparatory school of the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City of the Society of Jesus and the Colegio Lestonnac of the Order of the Company of Mary, N.S. He spent several years of discernment, first at the Archdiocesan Seminary of Xalapa, Veracruz, and then in the Order of Discalced Carmelites, both in Mexico, before considering Benedictine monasticism. On Sept. 10, 2019, Brother Félix began his novitiate year at Saint John’s Abbey, and on Sept. 14, 2020, made his simple vows as a monk.
Brother Félix has assisted in teaching at the Emmaus Institute, collaborated with the abbey’s Casa San Benitoministry, and served on the abbey’s vocations team. He is currently a theology student at Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary.
When asked what attracted him to Saint John’s Abbey, Brother Félix said, “Saint John’s Abbey is a community that I consider a place where I can put into service everything I have learned over the years, seeking to do God’s will. It offers me many opportunities to serve the Church, carry out my vocation and fulfill myself as a person.”