Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1951-1984 (Creation)
Extent
9 folder(s), 215 item(s), 257 page(s)
Name of creator
Biographical history
Dom John Eudes Bamberger stepped down as abbot of the Abbey of Our Lady of the Genesee in 2001. He came to Gethsemani in 1951 after having read «The Seven Storey Mountain» in the navy. He was sent to Washington, D.C., for studies in the psychiatric field and later helped Merton and Fr. Matthew Kelty in screening new applicants to the novitiate. (Source: The Thomas Merton Encyclopedia, pp. 22-23).
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
In these intramural letters, Merton and, at that time, fellow monk of Gethsemani, Bamberger, exchange thoughts about community life, the admission of new novices, and about each others writing. In some of these letters, Merton expresses problems he has with some of the monks serving as typists who do not agree with his work, and he questions whether the Gethsemani community understands or benefits from some of the Sunday conferences he is giving.
System of arrangement
Records are arranged by a Record Number based on the original order. Records are also assigned a numeric Series.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Regulations governing use of the collection can be found here: (‹https://bellarmine.libraryhost.com/index.php/rules›).
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Languages of the material
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
See also two letters from Merton to Bamberger published in «The School of Charity» (‹https://bellarmine.on.worldcat.org/search?queryString=no%3A26858206›), pp. 331-332 and 378. For other records related to Merton's health, see also the "Doctors' reports" file.