Our sincere and heartfelt condolences to the entire family. We share in your sorrow . May he Rest In Peace in the arms of our Lord .

Our hearts are United with you all during this time.  We have gained a powerful intercessor, fully Alive & restored in Heaven. May the Lords Peace be with you all. All our love, Alexis & Yari Quintela 

Our hearts and prayers unite with all of you in the sorrow and also the truth that Steffano is now Whole, restored and enjoying everlasting life. He will always be with us through His love and the communion of saints. Our deepest condolences and love, Elvis and Carmen

It's hard to find the right words to explain what a great loss to the world Steffano's passing is. While I know in my heart there is no one more deserving of  heaven than Steff, and he's now enjoying eternal life with no pain, or illness, the void his passing leaves behind is enormous and there is great sadness to those of us still on our journey back home. Despite the heaviness his passing has been to those who knew him, I have found talking about what a great person he was and our memories about him helps bring comfort. I met Steff at St. Edward's young adult group when I was 19 just entering young adulthood. I had always been reluctant towards joining a church group and religion in general. Steff was the most caring, patient person I have ever encountered. He treated all of us with respect, with love, and was an amazing teacher. Much like Jesus. He helped me see a different side of religion, that I wasn't taught on, and helped me form a personal relationship of knowing a loving caring God. Aside from being a phenomenal teacher, he was a fantastic friend. As we all started growing and becoming better acquainted the relationship he had with my group of friends blossomed to a personal friendship. He was a gentleman who would watch over us girls when we would all go out, and even if we insisted he didn't, since he knew we were financially struggling 20 somethings, he would always cover us. That's just the type of man he was. Selfless. So when Steff met Christina and we got to know her, I knew he had found his perfect other half. Just like Steff, she is caring, fights to give a voice to the voiceless, and walks the walk. I was honored to be able to watch my friend become a father to their beautiful daughter Malaya, and to be present for when he took his vows and became a husband to Christina. The happiness he found in his family and the love they shared always made me so proud and happy for my friend. We grew up together, and we got to see the harvest of the work that was put in to help shape us into adults. Steff was such an intricate part of so many people's growth. His words and teachings remain with so many of us. He helped shape so many people. He was a warrior of God, of the people, a considerate friend, and a caring person.  I think it fitting that his passing was in Valhalla. For there is none better received at the home of the warriors than Steffano. Rest easy my friend. Until we meet again. 

My heartfelt condolences to the Montano family. I am very much saddened by this news. 

I'll always remember Steff's kindness and generosity offered to me, especially during my difficult period of dissertation writing. And most of all, he has inspired me by the way he embraced his difficult health condition with so much courage and grace, while persisting in his teaching and scholarship to forge a more racially just world.

I’m so grateful for your life, Steff. I’ve been blessed by your presence. May you rest in peace in the light of our Lord Jesus. And may the peace of Christ bring comfort to his equally brave wife Christina Leaño and daughter Malaya, and all his loved ones during this time. 

My deepest condolences. I am in shock and lost for words. I met Steffano as a fraternity brother. He was welcoming, friendly, witty, truly intelligent, and deeply philosophical. I will forever remember his deep understanding of life and people. Steffano, you will be deeply missed brother. Until we meet again.

Christina, I am so sorry for your family’s lost. 

Steffano and Christina's wedding

At a wedding reception

Becoming Axel's godfather

At Malaya's birthday party - with his godson Axel

Steffano was a great friend, to say the absolute least. I first met him as my husband's fraternity brother, who later became a close friend, and eventually our son's godfather. We have many stories together spanning a 15-16 year friendship that I will always cherish. Among them: restaurant outings, happy hours, trips to Las Vegas and San Francisco, cherished gettogethers at his parents' house to celebrate important milestones, dinners at each other's houses, his joyous tone when he told us about meeting and falling in love with Christina, attendance at each other's weddings, our eventual childrens' birthday parties, my son's baptism, etc. The list goes on. In the more recent years, after he, Christina, and Malaya moved out of Florida, we kept in touch mostly by text. Steffano had an incredible gift of intelligence, wit, and respect. Each of these aspects was injected into every conversation he had, leaving every person better for having spoken to him. To say that he will be missed is an understatement. RIP amigo. Until we meet again...

Sending my condolences with love and compassion to all who were moved by such a beautiful man who was a shining light to many and a loving husband and father. 

Taos-pusong pakikiramay sa inyong pamilya, Christina. Deep condolences.

Steffano and family at Eli’s baby shower 💙

I knew Steff through our time as PhD students at Boston College. He was such a kind presence and generous and supportive peer in our program. I was a year behind him in the program, and I often looked to him for guidance as to how to approach the next step. He was always willing to have a conversation and I remember many of them, often unplanned as we greeted one another between the stacks of the STM library or in the halls at the REA conferences. I am so grateful to have known him as a colleague and friend. Just this past Sunday he had emailed me in a supportive and upbeat email to set up a call for a conversation about the next step of "what happens after graduation." Even in such a time of sickness and struggle, he was willing to help and be a supportive presence and friend. We have lost a wonderful friend and colleague, and the world has lost a brilliant theologian. 

Steffano Montano- beloved friend and classmate- pray for us. 

In this special "Year of St Joseph", I'm so saddened to bid farewell to such a special St Joseph. Not only has Steff been such a wonderful St Joseph to his Holy Family with Christina and Malaya, but he has also been a great St Joseph accompanying Christina to also birth another child: the Laudato Si' Movement (formerly Global Catholic Climate Movement) that Christina co-founded a few years ago.

On one hand, his humble and generous accompaniment of Christina allowed her to thrive in her LSM ministry (as the saying goes, "behind every great woman is a great man"). On the other hand, Steff was an active contributor to the LSM journey as the movement's very first theological consultant: drafting various theological statements, delivering trainings on Catholic Social Teaching for our staff, and more.

The most moving story about Steff's journey with LSM is the following: concerned about the news about Steff's health, LSM hosted a special online prayer service for him on the morning of September 24th. Special songs were sung from the tomb of Blessed Carlo Acutis, the Italian teenager beatified last year who succumbed to cancer at an early age. Less than an hour after the prayer service we heard the news that Steff had passed away.. at exactly the same time as the prayer service. It was so moving to know that we were united in prayer for Steff at the moment of his last breath.

We're terribly saddened by this loss, but we're consoled by knowing that a new saint in heaven is accompanying us all, together with Carlo Acutis and all the saints.