Rembert Weakland was a Benedictine monk and former Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation, starting his first term in 1967, the year before meeting Merton in Thailand. He served as Archbishop of Milwaukee from 1977-2002.
Dorothy Wayman was a journalist and author. Born in California, she came east for her higher education, graduating from the Boston School of Social Work in 1914. After travel to Japan, which became the subject of a book under the pseudonym Theodate Geoffrey, she returned to the Boston area. While corresponding with Merton she was a staff reporter for the «Boston Globe». (Source: "The American Catholic Who's Who." Volume 14: 1960-61. Grosse Pointe, MI: Walter Romig Publisher; p. 471.)
Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966), famous British author and satirist, was a convert to Catholicism in 1930 and served as a mentor to Merton in his early career as a writer.
Peter Watts was a British sculptor from Bath, England, who sculpted many of the statues at Gethsemani Abbey.
Fr. Joseph Raymond Watt was a former monk of Gethsemani Abbey under the religious name of Fr. Marion during the 1950's. At some point he left the monastery for parish life and spent many years in the Monterey Diocese in California. After he died, he was cremated and his ashes were returned to Gethsemani Abbey. (Source: "The Rev. Joseph Watt". Obituaries section of the Santa Cruz Sentinal Online. 16 Aug. 2002. Accessed 31 Aug. 2006 at the Bellarmine University Library. ‹http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2002/August/16/obit/obit.htm›.)
Fr. Youree Watson writes from the Jesuit House of Studies in Mobile, Alabama.
Robert B. Watson wrote to Merton from New York. He was a doctor who had spent nearly ten years in Brazil and responds to Merton's writings in the «Sewanee Review» on Brazilian poetry.
Will Watkins writes from San Francisco, California.
E. I. Watkin was an Oxford-educated scholar, philosopher, prolific writer, linguist and translator who was proficient in French, Italian, Spanish and German. He was born a Protestant, moved to the Anglo-Catholics in his teenage years, and became Roman Catholic in 1908. He was concerned about the rise of secularism, but believed in taking Catholicism beyond its surface teachings to profound philosophical and mystical ends. He sometimes ran into trouble with church authority in his approach.
Margaret (Peg) Wasserman was married to Edmund Wasserman (Senior). They were the parents of Merton's friends, Sr. Anita (Ann) and Edmund (Junior, whom Merton called "Cappy" or "Cap"). Edmund (Junior) was at Gethsemani Abbey with Merton for many years before leaving in 1963 and was known there as Fr. John of the Cross.
Edmund Wasserman (Senior) was married to Margaret (Peg) Wasserman. They were the parents of Merton's friends, Sr. Anita (Ann) and Edmund (Junior, whom Merton called "Cappy" or "Cap"). Edmund (Junior) was at Gethsemani Abbey with Merton for many years before leaving in 1963 and was known there as Fr. John of the Cross. Edmund Wasserman (Senior) died in 1962.
Edmund Wasserman, nicknamed "Cap" or "Cappy" by Merton, was a former Gethsemani monk known as Fr. John of the Cross. He entered the monastery in 1948 and studied under Merton. He was a close friend of Merton, but left in late 1962. Merton became close to Wasserman's family, becoming like an adopted son to his parents. Merton wrote extensively to Wasserman's sister, Ann, who joined the Carmelites in Cleveland, taking the name of Sr. Anita of Jesus. (Source: "John of the Cross Wasserman." «International Thomas Merton Society Newsletter», Vol. 16, No. 1. [Louisville, KY: International Thomas Merton Society, 2009], p. 3.)
Sr. Anita (Ann) Wasserman was a nun from the Carmelite Convent of Cleveland, Ohio. She had written to Merton before entering the Carmelites in 1952. She died in April of 2015 at 82. Her brother, Edmund, had entered Gethsemani Abbey and was a good friend of Merton's. His name in religion was Fr. John of the Cross, whom Merton referred to by the nicknames "Cap" or "Cappy". The Wasserman family met with Merton when coming to Gethsemani, "adopting" him into the family. (Source: «Witness to Freedom», p. 177.)
Fr. Gregory Waring was a Cistercian monk writing from Mount Saint Bernard Abbey in Charnwood Forest, near Coalville, Leicestershire, England.
Pamela Ward was secretary to James O. Wade, an editor at the Macmillan Company in New York.
Sr. Mary Albert Ward (later going by Sr. Marilyn Ward), is a Religious Sister of Mercy, who was writing from St. Joseph's Convent in Penfield, New York, at the time of correspondence with Merton.
Arthur Wang writes from New York and was a publisher from Hill and Wang.
Fr. Walter was a Dominican priest from Australia.
Richard J. Walsh was Director of Television for the National Council of Catholic Men in New York.
Daniel Walsh was a life-long educator and one of the most influential professors on Merton's life. After earning a doctorate at University of Toronto alongside Étienne Gilson, Walsh became professor at Manhattanville College in New York from 1934-1960. In addition, he was a visiting professor of philosophy at Columbia from 1936-1955, and afterward serving as an adjunct professor at Columbia. In 1939, Merton had Walsh for a course on St. Thomas Aquinas. At the bar of the Biltmore Hotel in New York in 1939, Merton told Walsh of his interest in religious life. After mentioning difference orders, including that he was impressed by the Trappists at Gethsemani Abbey, Walsh recommended the Franciscans. Merton would later be rejected by the Franciscans, but remember Walsh's praise of the Trappists. Later, Walsh would join Merton at Gethsemani Abbey in 1960 as a advisor and new professor for the abbey's philosophy program. He soon became a visiting professor at Bellarmine College in Louisville. Archbishop John Floersh offered to ordain the sixty-year-old Walsh a priest in 1967. A surprised but delighted Walsh was ordained at St. Thomas Seminary, a ceremony attended by Merton. Walsh died in 1975 and is buried near the monastic enclosure at Gethsemani Abbey. (Source: The Thomas Merton Encyclopedia, pp. 515-516.)
Tony Walsh was the founder of the Benedict Labre House in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was born in Paris, France, to Irish parents and was raise in England and Scotland. After some military service in France during and after World War I, he came to Canada and worked with Native American schools. He worked with the Legion War Services from 1942-1946. After some time of travel and study, he returned to found the Labre House. The members of the house serve the needs of the urban poor. Many early members had experience in the Catholic Worker Movement, and like that group, published a newspaper. The Labre House called theirs «Unity». In 1990, Walsh received Canada's highest civilian honor, the Order of Canada. (Source: "The Teacher: Anthony Walsh." 2004. Website of the Osoyoos Museum. Accessed at the Bellarmine University Library 28 Aug. 2006. ‹http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Inkameep/english/teacher/›.)
Fr. Benedict Wallis was a Carthusian monk of Le Grande Chartreuse in France.
Martha J. van de Walle writes from Belgium.
Dom Aelred Wall was the founder of Christ in the Desert Monastery in Abiquiu, New Mexico, and was its first superior.
Susan E. Walker was secretary to Dr. J. Edward Dirks of Yale University Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut.
Gerald Walker writes from New York.
Fr. V. Walgrave was a Dominican priest from Ghent, Belgium. He often traveled to the United States to preach at retreats and was at the Dominican Motherhouse of St. Mary of the Springs in Columbus, Ohio, at the time of writing to Merton.
Countess Waldstein writes from Munich, West Germany.
C. Anthony has served as president and a corporate director of a number of companies after beginning a career in advertising. He is also a board member of many charities. Having studied journalism in college, he continues to writes books, articles and recurring columns.
Dom Eusebius Wagner was Abbot of New Clairvaux Abbey in Vina, California.
James O. Wade was an editor for the MacMillan Company in New York.
Fr. Chrysogonus Waddell is a Trappist monk of Gethsemani Abbey who was studying in Rome at the time of this correspondence.
Vladimír Vyhlídka was was from Czechoslovakia. He studied for the priesthood in Rome, returned to Czechoslovakia, and later was made a monsignor. He died in Prague, Czech Republic, in 2011.
Fr. Urban Voll was a Dominican priest and an editor for the «Catholic Theological Encyclopedia». He writes from Washington, D.C.
Cintio Vitier is a poet, anthologist and literary critic from Havana, Cuba. His early poetry was influenced by the Spanish Nobel laureate Juan Ramón Jiménez. In the late 1950's and 1960's, the Cuban Revolution changed his style. Vitier later credited Merton with giving him spiritual and political guidance during the 1960's. (Source: «The Courage for Truth», p. 235.)
Sr. Vera Marie of Christ the High Priest (Sr. Vera Lea Virant) was a Carmelite nun from a monastery in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Fr. Vincent was a Trappist monk writing from Notre Dame de Sept-Fons Abbey in France.
Fr. Vincent Mary was a Passionist priest. He writes from St. Bernard's Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, where he was going to conduct a retreat for the nuns.
Sr. Joana Villon-Bras writes from the Abadia de Nossa Senhora das Graças in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Marjorie Villiers was one of the founders, in 1946, of the Harvill Press with Manya Harari. She writes from London, England.
Virginia Vigrass was a volunteer teacher at the Quakers' Friends Girls School in Ramallah, Jordan (currently in the West Bank of the Palestinian Territories). She was originally from Cleveland, Ohio, and had been in Ramallah for a year.
Germaine Vignolle writes from Marseille, France.
Alejandro Vignati was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the time of writing to Merton, he was in Lima, Peru. He was a poet, critic and co-authored a Peruvian screenplay. He wrote a study on author Henry Miller as well.
Fr. Joachim Viens was a Trappist monk of St. Benedict's Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado.
Madeleine Viénot writes from Paris, France.
Fr. P.M. Vidal, was a priest and member of the Third Order of Dominicans of the Couvent des Dominicaines de Béthanie at Saint-Morillon, Gironde, France.
Elisabeth Vester was Secretary of Der Christ in der Welt and writes from Vienna, Austria.
Fr. Roman J. Verostko was Staff Editor for Art for «The New Catholic Encyclopedia» and writes from Washington, D.C.
Sr. M. Verenice was a Sister of St. Joseph from Nazareth, Michigan.
Fr. Venard was a Carmelite priest from a monastery in Austria.
James G. Vargiu writes while on vacation in Italy, but permanently resided in Palo Alto, California.
Msgr. Béla Varga was Chairman of the Amnesty for Political Prisoners in Hungary Action Committee in New York. He was a Papal Prelate and former President of the Hungarian Parliament from 1946-1947.
Maria de Varela was a professor at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba in Argentina.
Fr. Joseph Vann was a Franciscan friar and one of the founding fathers of St. Bernardine of Siena College in Loudonville, New York, an extension of St. Bonaventure College.
Fr. Lambert Vandermeulen was a monk of St. Benedictus-Abdij, a Cistercian monastery in Achel, Belgium.
Dom Hubert Van Zeller was a Benedictine monk of Downside Abbey in England and scholar on the monastic life. He authored a number of books and articles on the contemplative life, the scriptures and monasticism.
The Rev. Dale L. Van Meter writes from Medfield, Massachusetts. He was working on a Masters degree in Social Work from Boston College at the time of writing to Merton.
Mrs. A. Van Horn writes from Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Merton writes to Dom Emmanuel Van Gassel, Abbot of St. Benedictus-Abdij, a Cistercian monastery in Achel, Belgium. He was superior of the abbey from 1965-1989.
Mark Van Doren won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1940 for his 1939 volume of collected poems and was a literary critic and professor. He had a profound effect on Merton as a professor of English at Columbia University in New York. Van Doren was at Columbia from 1920 to 1959. Merton stayed in contact with Van Doren after leaving Columbia and after entering the monastery. Van Doren selected the pieces for Merton's «Thirty Poems» and helped get them published. Merton also knew Van Doren's wife, Dorothy, and sons Charles and John. Mark Van Doren visited Merton at Gethsemani a few times and met once with him in Louisville. (Source: «The Road to Joy», p. 3.)
Charles Lincoln Van Doren was the son of famed poet Mark Van Doren, Mark having been one of Merton's professors at Columbia University. Charles became an scholar and professor at Columbia University, as well, but his legacy was later overshadowed by scandal. He was a long-term contestant on the game show Twenty-One. His winning streak was later revealed as a fraud.
Laurens van der Post was a writer born in South Africa. He writes about the conflicts of having been born into a Boer family, educated by the British who had recently defeated them, and hating the system of apartheid. His attacks on South African apartheid in a magazine he co-founded in his youth, «Voorslag», led to his exile. He spent some time in Japan and later joined the British army in 1939. He served in the Second World War. After the war, he was send on a mission by the British government's Colonial Development Corporation, which took him into the African interior. He began to write some travelogues and novels with influences of Jungian psychology. He saw racial tensions in light of the conflict between our interior battles between our primitive and civilized self, and racism as exteriorizing our interior hatred of the primitive self to what we perceive as primitive in other groups. Other themes of mysticism and interiority occur in his novels, prompting Merton's interest in them. (Source: "Van der Post, Laurens". World Authors 1950-1970. 1975. Wilson Biographies Plus. Online. H.W. Wilson. Bellarmine University Library, Louisville, KY. 18 July 2006. ‹http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com›.)
José Maria Valverde was a poet born in Valencia de Alcántara, Spain. At the time of writing to Merton, he was a professor at University of Barcelona. He was the administrator of the publisher Eler.
Georgette de Vallejo was born Georgette Marie Philippart in Paris in 1908. She married poet and author César Vallejo in 1934. Widowed by César's death in 1938, she would later write some biographical works and compile some anthologies of her late husband and his works in the 1960's and 1970's.
Francisco Valle was a surrealist poet born in Nicaragua. He sends Merton an inscribed copy of one of his books.
Valerio Cardinal Valeri was Prefect of the Roman Curia's Congregation of the Affairs of Religious, currently known as the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. He writes from the Vatican.
Mariann Vail writes from Richmond, Indiana.
Gabriel Vahanian was one of the foremost theologians of the Death of God Movement that flourished in the 1960's. Later, he would write about technology and its effects on society and theology, including reflections on the thoughts of Jacques Ellul. Gabriel Vahanian writes to Merton while at his summer residence in Allauch, France. At that time, he was a professor at Syracuse University in New York.
In late 1958, Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi was appointed Apostolic Delegate to the United States, replacing Amleto Cicognani. Vagnozzi was elevated to Cardinal in 1967.
Julián Urgoiti was head of Editorial Sudamericana publishers in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Dom Wilfred Upson (born John Henry Neil Upson) was, at the time of writing to Dom James Fox, Abbot of Prinknash Abbey (Our Lady and St. Peter at Prinknash), a Benedictine monastery in Gloucestershire, England. Upson first entered monastic life as an Anglican with the community of monks led by Aelred Carlyle on Caldey Island. After a conflict with the Church of England, the community converted en masse to Catholicism. Caldey Island was later sold to Cistercian monks in 1928, and the community moved to Gloucestershire. Upson was elected first abbot in 1937 and served in that position until 1961. Merton would be in contact with another Anglican-convert who would become Catholic at Prinknash, Bede Griffiths (Merton and Griffiths having been in contact during Griffith's later years at his monastery in India). (Source: "A Monk and His Movies." 23 October 2013. Accessed 5 August 2020. ‹https://darklanecreative.com/a-monk-and-his-movies-2/›.)
M. R. Uminski was master of a British ship in the Hudson Steamship Company. He was of Polish decent and offers to translate Merton's book «New Seeds of Contemplation» into Polish, and for this book he writes to thank Merton.
Raymond Tyner was editor of the «Green River Review» (originally to be entitled the «Kentucky Review» until duplicate title discovered). He writes from Owensboro, Kentucky.
