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Fr. H. A. Reinhold was a native of Hamburg, Germany. He was part of the Catholic resistance to Hitler and had to escape Germany because he was pursued by the Gestapo. He came to the United States and served first in Seattle and later in Pittsburgh. He laid much of the foundation for liturgical reforms that were being considered in the decades leading up to the Second Vatican Council.

John Reiser (then Fr. Hubert) was a Trappist of Gethsemani Abbey.

Paul B. Renner writes from the Newman Center at University of Louisville in Kentucky.

William P. Restivo was president of Bearings for Re-Establishment (BSR), a group that helped former priests, ministers, seminarians and religious re-integrate into the workforce. Merton agreed to serve on Bearing's Board of Advisors in 1967. The national headquarters was in New York.

Kenneth Rexroth was a prolific poet who was the inspiration for many in the Beat Generation of the 1950's, but later breaking with this group. He also wrote literary and radical political criticism, plays, and histories in a populist style. Later in life, he turned away from politics, supporting non-violence and anarchism. He also developed an interest in mysticism. He writes to Merton from San Francisco. (Source: "Rexroth, Kenneth." Obituary from Current Biography. 6 June 1982. Wilson Biographies Plus. Online. H.W. Wilson. Bellarmine University Library, Louisville, KY. 22 Feb. 2006. ‹http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com›.)

"Carlos Reyes writes, teaches and edits poetry (The Wine Press) in Portland, Oregon" (biography from Monks Pond, p. 209).

Mañuela M. de Reyes writes from Mexico.

John Reynolds worked with Ed Rice on the Catholic magazine «Jubilee» and gave Merton a «bangasa», a Japanese umbrella. He claims that Ed Rice said that he and Merton used to see performances by blues singer Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter).

Molly Rhodes writes from Buckingham, England.

Kenneth James Ricardi was a senior at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. He asks about books that had influenced Merton. Besides ones that had influenced Merton in his youth that are listed in «The Seven Storey Mountain», he mentions that he has more recently been influenced by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s «Stride Toward Freedom».

José Eusebio Ricaurte from Bogotá, Colombia, sent Merton a translation of «Basic Principles of Monastic Prayer» and was part of a group there called the Priest Slaves of Mary.

Patricia Ellen Ricci (later Patricia Ellen Doyle in marriage) was a teacher, designer and graphic artist from Chicago, Illinois. Patricia Ricci asks Merton's permission to use quotes from some of his writings on cards she had designed for the Carmel of Reno, Nevada.

Edward Rice was one of Merton's friends from Columbia University that also contributed to the university's satirical magazine «The Jester». He was one of the only Catholics in Merton's circle (before the conversion of Lax and others), and he was chosen as Merton's godfather for Merton's baptism in 1938. Ed Rice became a freelance journalist and photographer. He founded the ecumenical and progressive Catholic magazine «Jubilee», to which Merton was a contributor. As a journalist, he traveled throughout the world, sometimes getting into danger, including a threat of disembowelment by Bedouins in Jordan. (Sources: The Thomas Merton Encyclopedia, edited by William Shannon, Christine Bochen, and Patrick O'Connell, pp. 384-385; and Cummings, Mary. "Edward Rice '40: Traveling on Unbeaten Paths." «Columbia College Today». May 2001. Online version. Accessed 22 Feb. 2006. ‹http://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/may01/may01_feature_rice.html›.)

John H. Richards writes from south Wales. He writes about desiring certain aspects of the Christian experience while feeling more of a Buddhist. Merton replies with certain similarities and differences at the essence of the two, a similar response to much of what he says in «Zen and the Birds of Appetite». They also discuss the type of meditation taught at monasteries in Burma.

Sr. Jane Marie Richardson was a Sister of Loretto. She accompanied another friend and correspondence of Merton, Sr. Mary Luke Tobin, at the Second Vatican Council. She participated in some of the conferences Merton gave to the neighboring Loretto community, and she has edited a book transcribed from these same lectures under the title Springs of Contemplation.

Br. Victor Richert was a Trappist monk of Gethsemani Abbey.

Br. René Richie entered Gethsemani Abbey in 1950. He was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada in 1928 and died at Gethsemani Abbey in 2011. (Previously filed under "René, Br., O.C.S.O." and moved in 2022.)

Edna Richman writes from Kentucky. She had a book that she hoped Merton could get published. He makes some recommendations to her.

Fr. Emilio del Río was a Jesuit priest and writer from Spain.

Rhoda Rissin was Assistant to James Laughlin, head of New Directions publishers from Norfolk, Connecticut.

Thomas Francis Ritt was the Director of the Catholic Council on Civil Liberties, headquartered in Lawndale, California. It was a nonprofit organization of Catholic laity. He did a Catholic commentary for KPFK Pacifica Radio in Los Angeles.

Fr. Robert was a Trappist priest from the Abbaye Sainte Marie du Désert in Bellegarde, France.

Fr. Robert was a Trappist priest from Our Lady of the Genesee Abbey in Piffard, New York.

Francis Roberts was free-lance writer asking for Christmas remembrances from people from many walks of life and in many disciplines for an article he was writing entitled "A Christmas Remembered". Merton replies with a mimeographed version of his last circular letter from Christmas, writing about the Christmas Midnight Mass at the monastery. He removed a few portions of the letter dealing with life in his hermitage because he was trying not to publicize this too much.

John G. Roberts writes from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Sr. Thomas of God Roberts was a Benedictine sister from Santa Clara, Mexico, writing on behalf of the first seminar of the Commitment Research Institute, which seems to have been affiliated with CIDOC (Centro Intercultural de Documentación) of Cuernavaca, Mexico. Bishop Sergio Méndez Arceo of Cuernavaca was to open the seminar. Ivan Illich was to preside at one day of the seminar, and Daniel Berrigan at another. Merton was invited to speak on commitment in the monastic life.

Born in Le Havre, France, Archbishop Thomas Roberts was a Jesuit and the former archbishop of Bombay, India. He was in London, England, at the time of writing to Merton.

Anne Robertson writes from the magazine, «The Commonweal», in New York.

Fr. Vernon Robertson was a priest of the Louisville Archdiocese in Kentucky. He converted to Roman Catholicism, having been an Episcopalian. He thanks Merton for celebrating a Mass for him on the occasion of his ordination to the priesthood after finishing studies at the Pontifico Collegio Beda in Rome. Robertson was ordained at the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican in the presence of Pope Paul VI. Robertson went on to become a social justice advocate in Louisville. He was concerned about poverty and education in the inner city. He founded Montessori schools in the city and helped to revitalize some declining churches in Louisville's downtown, including his long-time parish of St. Martin of Tours. He also helped found the city's first residence for people living with AIDS. (Source: Cahill, Elizabeth Kirkland. "Vernon Robertson is in heaven - late priest remembered." «The Commonweal». 17 July 1998. Online from Findarticles.com. Accessed 23 Feb. 2006. ‹http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1252/is_n13_v125/ai_20968211›.)

Violet Robertson writes from the Jesuit Missions in New York.

Natalie S. Robins was a poet who sends Merton an incribed copy of her book.

John-David Robinson writes from Saint Paul, Minnesota, as editor of «Sun», a magazine of "Visual Theology", discussing liturgy from the visual art standpoint and the theology invoked by visual symbols.

Fr. Julian Rochford (born Paul Rochford) was a Benedictine priest of Ampleforth Abbey in York, England. He was interested in the action-contemplation dynamic and in aggiornamento, monastic reform. He spent much of his time teaching at Ampleforth College, but also spent time in inner-city ministry. He died at 70 having collided with a car on his motorcycle on his way to preparing some children for their First Holy Communion. (Source: Price, Justin. "Obituary - Fr Julian Rochford 1993." Ampleforth Abbey Information from the Library and Archives [online]. Accessed 23 Feb. 2006. ‹http://www.archive.zenwebhosting.com/sites/obits/barry/rochford_j.htm›.)

Louise Rocke writes from East Hampton, New York.

Sr. María de la Victorias de Sta. Teresita Rodríguez was from the Congregation of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament and writes from the Monasterio del Verbo Encarnado y del Santisimo Sacramento from Mexico City, Mexico.

Marta Elena Rodríguez was a friend of Evora Arca de Sardiña. She took a trip to Brazil and asks Merton some questions about the plight of the poor and what can be done.

Fr. Andrew Roduskey is a Trappist monk of Gethsemani Abbey.

Fr. C. Murray Rogers writes from the Jyotiniketan Ashram in Bareilly, India. He was an Anglican priest who came to India on official missionary duty with his wife Mary and with Fr. C. F. Andrews. However, they were inspired by Swami Abhishiktananda (Henri Le Saux, O.S.B.) and chose to live his example of a life of poverty. The ashram they founded, Jyotiniketan, was ecumenical in nature, and had a special focus on Christian-Hindu relations. Rogers had contact with scholars of interreligious relations, such as Raimundo Panikkar (Raimon Panikkar) and Dr. J. A. Cuttat. Merton and Rogers had common friends in Fr. (now Canon) Donald Allchin. (Source: Du Boulay, Shirley. "The priest and the swami." «The Tablet» online. 21 Apr. 2001. Accessed 24 Feb. 2006. ‹http://www.thetablet.co.uk/cgi-bin/register.cgi/tablet-00519›.)

Susan Rogers was a senior in high school at Lacordaire Academy in Montclaire, New Jersey. She writes in praise of Merton's article, "Can We Survive Nihilism?"

Fr. Peter-Thomas Rohrbach is a Carmelite priest and was editor of the Catholic quarterly «Spiritual Life». He writes from Washington, D.C.

Keith Rolland was a college student majoring in finance at Fordham University. He writes from Brooklyn, New York. He sends Merton some articles he had written and, after reading a book by Merton, was interested in the influence on his writing of "affluence, Communism, religion, «Brave New World», etc."

Fr. Ronald Roloff was, at the time of correspondence with Merton, a Benedictine priest at St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota.

Maria Rosa Romagosa writes from Barcelona, Spain.

Fr. William Joseph Rooney writes as Executive Director of the Catholic Commission on Intellectual and Cultural Affairs in Washington, D.C.

Joel Roosevelt writes from Los Angeles, California, in response to Merton's article "Apologies to an Unbeliever", published in «Harper's» magazine.

Sr. Rosaire of Christ was a Carmelite nun from Waterbeach, Cambridge.

Sr. Rose Alma was Sister of Loretto from Nerinx, Kentucky.

Sr. Rose Thérèse was a Cloistered Maryknoll Sister from Maryknoll, New York.

Philip B. Rose was a mathematics instructor at Colorado Women's College (briefly going by the name Temple Buell College during this period). He is now Professor of Computer Science at Carroll College in Helena, Montana.

At the time of writing the letter, Eugene Rose had recently converted to Russian Orthodoxy. He would later become an Orthodox priest and monk, living in his native California.

Fr. Raymond Roseliep was a Catholic priest and poet. He was born in Iowa and spent almost all of his life in Dubuque with the exception of his seminary studies at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. When he first wrote to Merton, he was an English professor at Loras College in Dubuque. After suffering some health problems, he became a chaplain from 1966 through the rest of his career at Mount Saint Francis in Dubuque. In the 1960's, he began to experiment with concrete poetry and Merton publishes Roseliep in «Monks Pond», volumes 2 and 4. In the 1970's, he became best known for his use of the haiku, sometimes taking the pseudonym Sobi-shi. (Source: "Roseliep, Raymond." Biography from American National Biography. 2004. Wilson Biographies Plus. Online. H.W. Wilson. Bellarmine University Library, Louisville, KY. 27 Feb. 2006. ‹http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com›.)

Sr. Rose-Marie was a Dominican nun and Prioress of the monastery of Notre-Dame du Rosaire in Berthierville, Quebec, Canada. She was president of the Organisme des Moniales (the Monastic Organization).

Dorothy Rosenberger writes on behalf of the Grail community (Grailville) outside of Loveland, Ohio. The Grail is an international women's movement, founded in the 1920's in the Netherlands. The Grailville community in Ohio was the first in the United States, founded in 1944, and is now the national headquarters with other communities in New York and California.

Jean Rosenthal writes on behalf of Curtis Brown publishers from New York.

Richard Rosenthal writes on behalf of «Writer's Digest» of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Sr. M. Rosita was a Marianite of the Holy Cross from Our Lady of Holy Cross College in New Orleans, Louisiana. She asks Merton's help in how to respond to the questions of her 20 year old cousin who has some theological questions that she cannot answer.

Eric B. Ross writes on behalf of the Philomathean Society of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He sent Merton the society's publication, «ERA».

Nancy Wilson Ross was a novelist and essayist writing for both adults and juveniles, and writing about relationships and spiritual journeys. She had a long interest in eastern religions and wrote some popular introductions to Buddhism and Zen. She was born in Olympia, Washington, but spent the later part of her life in New York. (Source: "Ross, Nancy Wilson." Biography from World Authors 1900-1950. 1996. Wilson Biographies Plus. Online. H.W. Wilson. Bellarmine University Library, Louisville, KY. 28 Feb. 2006. ‹http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com›.)

Theodore Roszak writes from London, England, as the editor of «Peace News».

Gerald P. Roucoulet was a college seminarian in his early twenties studying for the diocesan priesthood at Christ the King Seminary in St. Bonaventure, New York. He was considering the monastic life and asks for Merton's advice.

Dom Oliver Rousseau was a Benedictine monk of the monastery of Chevetogne in Belgium. He and others from Chevetogne were deeply involved in the early stages of the liturgical reform movement. Though their quarterly review «Irénikon», Chevetogne also addressed ecumenical dialogue. Rousseau was interested in Merton's article, "The Pasternak Affair", but thought that another article by Merton might more closely fit the genre of Irénikon.

Fr. Richard W. Rousseau was a Jesuit priest and associate professor of theology at Fairfield University in Connecticut.

Dimitri Roussopoulos was editor-in-chief of «Our Generation against Nuclear War», described on the letterhead as: "A new quarterly journal devoted to the research, theory and review of the problems of world peace and directed toward presenting alternative solutions to human conflict, eliminating war as a way of life." Roussopoulos writes from Montreal, Canada.

Emile Rovilly was municipal archivist for Nantes, France.

Paul Rowland was a retired English professor living in Maryville, Tennessee. He was interested in some of Merton's essays on Boris Pasternak.

Gail Rubin was assistant to Robert MacGregor, publisher at New Directions.

Abbot Leo Rudloff was a Benedictine monk and superior of Weston Priory in Vermont. He invites Merton to come to Weston to speak to the community.

Fr. Marco V. Rueda was a Jesuit priest in Quito, Ecuador. He was Master of Novices and writes on letterhead of the Instituto Superior de Humanidades Clasicas. He knew Br. Fernando Cardenal, the brother of Merton's novice, Ernesto Cardenal.

Rosemary Radford Ruether was a theologian and feminist writer who was born in Minnesota. She received her doctorate in religion in 1965 at Howard University in Washington, D.C. She remained there on faculty until 1976. Later, she was on faculty of Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. (Source: «The Hidden Ground of Love», p. 497-498.)

Charles J. Ruff was a realtor from Cincinnati, Ohio. He offers Merton a field dog, an English Springer Spaniel, for his hermitage.

John Rusnak writes from Chicago, Illinois.

Ota Lee Russell was from the Section on Stewardship and Benevolence from the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. She writes from New York.

Sr. Ruth Adelaide was a Sister of Charity writing from the College of Mount St. Joseph On The Ohio.

Elsie M. Ryan was from Blenheim, New Zealand.

Br. James Ryan was a choir monk in simple vows at Our Lady of the Genesee Abbey in Piffard, New York, at the time of writing to Merton.

Archbishop Joseph T. Ryan began his tenure in the Archdiocese of Anchorage, Alaska, in 1966. He writes to Merton from Alaska. He later served as archbishop of the United States Military.

Servando Sacaluga was a professor writing from New York who introduced Merton to the poems of Mercedes Cortázar.

Eric Sackheim writes on behalf of the Japanese publisher Mushinsha Limited. Sackheim had completed graduate studies in Japanese at Harvard University and went to Japan on a Fulbright Scholarship in 1960. He published anthologies of Chinese and Japanese poetry, including the poems of Kusano Shimpei. He was also interested in American folk and roots music, publishing a seminal book on blues music.

Mouni Sadhu, born in Poland as Mieczyslaw Demetriusz Sudowski. Although he published a number of books, the details of his life are sketchy. He was known variously as an occultist and a practicing Catholic to his death and a bridge-builder between Christian and Hindu traditions. As a young man, he fought for Germany during World War I. He married in 1936, but his wife was said to have died in a German bombing of Poland in 1939. He fought against the Germans in World War II, was captured and imprisoned until liberated by the Allies in 1945. He then went first to France and after another year to Brazil. There, he wrote his first book (in Portuguese), «Quem Sou Eu?». Thence, he spent a year studying under Sri Ramana Maharshi before permanently residing in Australia. He writes to Merton from Box Hill, Victoria, Australia, asking Merton to write a Foreword for a planned book, «Contemplation: an Outline for Practical Study» (published under the title «Meditation: an Outline for Practical Study«). (Source: Pugsley, Tim. "Mouni Sadhu - Information." Website. Accessed 2006/03/15. ‹http://www.mounisadhu.com›.)

Fr. Carleton Michael Sage writes at first from the Theological College of the Catholic University of America and later from St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland.

Serge St. Jean writes from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to an unknown religious sister (Merton is mentioned in the letter).

Archbishop Tulio Botero Salazar was a Vincentian priest who became Archbishop of Medellín, Colombia.

Edward R. Sammis writes on behalf of Harper and Row, Publishers, New York.