Fr. Neil Predovich was a Jesuit priest and Director of Novices for the Detroit province. He writes from Colombiere College in Clarkston, Michigan. He wrote a small book called «The Changing Religious», which he sends to Merton.
Rod Prince writes from «Peace News» from London, England.
Sr. Prisca was a Benedictine nun of Regina Laudis Abbey in Bethlehem, Connecticut, but was not bound to the enclosure at the time of writing. She and another sister visited the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Community in New Gloucester, Maine.
Adele Pullman writes from Mayfield, Pennsylvania.
Georg Rapp was one of the directors of Rapp and Whiting publishers of London, England.
Anna T. Reidy writes from Worcester, Massachusetts.
Molly Rhodes writes from Buckingham, England.
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.
Edna Richman writes from Kentucky. She had a book that she hoped Merton could get published. He makes some recommendations to her.
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.
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.
Louise Rocke writes from East Hampton, New York.
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?"
Sr. Rosaire of Christ was a Carmelite nun from Waterbeach, Cambridge.
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).
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.
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.
Fr. Richard W. Rousseau was a Jesuit priest and associate professor of theology at Fairfield University in Connecticut.
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.
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.
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.
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›.)
The Rev. Dr. Howard Schomer was a Congregationalist minister and President of Chicago Theological Seminary. He was a Delegated Observer of the Second Vatican Council, representing the International Congregational Council. He was an anti-war activist and took part in some of the Civil Rights Movement's demonstrations with Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mother M. L. Schroen was a Religious of the Sacred Heart of Manhattanville and writes from the General Headquarters in Rome, Italy.
The Rev. John Whitman Sears was a psychologist and Universalist minister. He was born in Lawrence, Kansas, but moved with his family to California. He returned to the University of Kansas for college and was afterward ordained a minister. His ministry led him to North Carolina and back to Kansas where he left the ministry for social work. During the Great Depression, he moved with his family to San Carlos, California, studying psychology. He later moved to San Mateo where he joined his brother in a business of counseling and psychology, and from there he writes to Merton. (Source: "In Memoriam: Unitarian Universalist Ministers 2000-2001." Website of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Accessed 21 April 2006. ‹http://www.uua.org/programs/ministry/news/obituaries2001.html›.)
Robert D. Sharp served in a number of missions in the military in the Second World War. He sends his mission card to Merton, detailing 35 missions from 1944-1945. He read Merton's letter in the April 2, 1965 issue of «Commonweal» and said that he "wept over the part I played in that war."
In 1962, Dan Shay was a 34-year-old carpenter's apprentice, a member of a number of Catholic organizations, and a conscientious objector from St. Louis, Missouri.
Richard E. Sherrell was Managing Editor of «The Christian Scholar», a publication of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Paul K. T. Sih was an author of histories of China and translator of Chinese classics. Sih was born near Shanghai, China. Nominally a Buddhist from a family that did not stress religion, he was exposed to Christianity through earning a doctorate in Rome, Italy, and though a Chinese government position in Rome. Through this job, he met Merton's friend John C. H. Wu, who was Chinese ambassador to the Vatican. Wu, having bridged connections between Christianity and Taoism, was a factor in Sih's conversion to Catholicism. In 1959, Sih became a professor of history and Director of the Center for Asian Studies at St. John's University in New York. It was here he began his correspondence with Merton. (Source: «The Hidden Ground of Love», pp. 548-549.)
Clara Silva was a poet who sends Merton an incribed copy of her book.
Andrew Sinclair was from Lorrimer Publishing Limited in London, England.
Fr. Baldwin Skeehan took over from Thomas Merton as novice master at Gethsemani Abbey after Merton retired to his hermitage in 1965. He served as novice master until 1968 and was later Prior of Gethsemani. He would later leave monastic life.
Irene Skolnick was Managing Editor of «The Hudson Review» in New York at the time of correspondence with Merton.
John H. Slate was a classmate of Merton's at Columbia University. He was a lawyer with the firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom in New York, and specialized in aviation law. In addition, he contributed humorous pieces to «Fortune», «The Atlantic Monthly», and «The Saturday Evening Post». Merton had heard reports about Slate from other Columbia alumni friends, but had not been in direct contact for many years. Slate died of a heart attack later in that same year they were in contact concerning the literary estate.
William Milligan Sloane was a publisher (William Sloane Associates) writing from New York. He also was an author of mysteries and science fiction.
Anne Smith was married to another Merton correspondent, Carleton Smith. She sends Merton some photographs taken by her husband.
Catherine Smith writes from Escanaba, Michigan. She seems to have been an artist working in a variety of media, including pottery, sculpture and fabrics. She seems to have met or known Merton's friend Sr. Thérèse Lentfoehr, who tells Merton of seeing Smith in Escanaba.
Grover Cleveland Smith writes from Durham, North Carolina. At the time, he was an English professor at Duke University.
Fr. Thomas Fidelis Smith was a Trappist monk of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia.
Sociologist and economist Dallas Walker Smythe was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, and moved to the United States in 1918. He was a life-long pacifist. In the late 1930's, he became a civil servant in Washington, D.C. In 1948, he joined the new Institute of Communications Research at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It is from here, he writes to Merton and Merton responds. (Source: Gourlie, Michael; Caitlin Webster; Frances Fournier; and Enid Britt. "Dallas Smythe fonds". Jan. 1998. Website of Simon Fraser University Archives. Accessed, 9 May 2006: Bellarmine University Library. ‹http://www.sfu.ca/archives/F-16/F-16fonds.html›.)
Merton mentions that Eileen Curns was a papal volunteer in Brazil. After returning from the trip from Brazil, she attempts to publish an account of her trip, delivers speeches, and does typing for Merton. She writes from Waukegan, Illinois.
Fr. John Daly was President of Songang Jesuit College and an admirer of Merton's writings.
Henri Daniel-Rops was the author of a number of books, especially focusing on faith history.
Mother Myriam Dardenne founded Redwoods Abbey, a Trappist community of women, in White Thorn, California. Merton met her on her way to found it in 1962. Later, he visited Redwoods before continuing his trip to Asia. They discuss Merton's travel plans and arrangements for a meeting of contemplative religious at Redwoods Monastery.
Fr. Hubert Daubechies is a Jesuit and chief editor of «Revista Mensaje» and wants to translate Merton's "The Black Revolution" article into Spanish for his magazine. He writes from Santiago, Chile.
Arthur J. Davidson writes from New York.
Mary Ann Davis and Donna Gunty write from Chicago, Illinois.
Richard De Martino was writing from the Temple University Department of Religion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Along with Abe Masao and Nishitani Keiji, he was involved in the return in 1965 of «The Eastern Buddhist», which was originally started in 1921 by D. T. Suzuki and which featured articles on Buddhism and Buddhist texts in translation.
Remi J. De Roo was Bishop of Victoria, British Columbia in Canada. He gave permission for Dom Jacques Winandy, O.S.B. to establish a "community" of hermits, the Hermits of St. John the Baptist, in his diocese in 1964. The hermits lived and prayed independently, but were in proximity to each other and under the guidance of an elder or superior.
Mara de Sylva was a woman who had been nearly blind for 80 years. She writes to Merton to pray for her son, Joaquim Oscar de Sylva, who is suffering health problems from fumes he was exposed to at work.
Poet and writer Catherine de Vinck was born in Belgium. She was married to Baron José de Vinck in 1945, and they moved to the United States in 1948. A Catholic, she has authored a number of books of mystical and devotional poetry and other spiritual works. She writes from Allendale, New Jersey.
Fr. Edwin Deane was a Franciscan priest and master of cleric novices at St. Anthony Friary in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Br. Alberic Delaney was a monk of Gethsemani.
Angelo Cardinal Dell'Acqua writes on behalf of three Popes as "Sostituto", similar to an interior minister for Vatican City.
Barbara Deming writes from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She was an American author and activist interested in non-violence, war resistance, civil rights, feminism, and gay and lesbian rights. (Source: Biography from «Deming, Barbara, 1917- . Papers, 1908-1985: A Finding Aid» (MC 408), Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. Accessed 11 March 2009. ‹http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/findingAidDisplay?_collection=oasis&inoid=2145›.)
Ruby Dennison was originally from Ireland and working with the Legion of Mary in South Africa.
Fr. Placide Deseille was a Trappist of the Abbey of Bellefontaine in France.
Don Devereux translated "Nocturne" by late 19th Century minor French poet, Jules Tellier, which appeared in the third edition of «Monks Pond». Devereux moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1962 where he worked with programs to assist migrant workers. He was also an art and literary contributor to «The Christian Century».
Professor Leslie Dewart was born in Spain, raised in Cuba, and moved to Canada in 1942 to serve as pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He later spent a long career in the philosophy and religion departments of St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto. His writings blended religion. law and language studies. At the time of correspondence with Merton, he was writing a book called «Christianity and Revolution: The Lesson of Cuba», which studied the connection between the Catholic Church and the Cuban Revolution (source: «Witness to Freedom», p. 282).
Frank G. Dickey was president of University of Kentucky at the time of correspondence with Merton.
Mr. L. T. Dickson was bookstore manager at the University of Delaware.
Dorothy Dohen was a sociologist, author and professor at Fordham University in New York.
Irene Dohmen was the editor of a high school newspaper.
Leon Driskell was in the Department of English faculty at University of Louisville.
Dom Frederic Dunne was abbot of the Abbey of Gethsemani in Merton's early years at the monastery.
Mother Benedict Duss was a Benedictine Abbess of Regina Laudis monastery in Bethlehem, Connecticut.
Diana Eck was a student of Amiya Chakravarty at Smith College and writes to express her praise for Merton's book «Gandhi on Non-Violence». Dr. Eck has gone on to earn degrees from the University of London and Harvard and to write books about the religious traditions of India, religious pluralism and Christianity's encounter with other religions.
Eileen Egan was a primary figure in the Catholic peace movement. She was a cofounder of the organization American PAX, which became Pax Christi-USA, a branch of the international movement. She worked with and wrote books about Dorothy Day and Mother Theresa of Calcutta. With Dorothy Day, Gordon Zahn, Jim Douglass and Richard Carbrey, she advocated for the strong language against war and in support of conscientious objection in teaching of the Second Vatican Council.
Sr. Mary Egan (known in Merton's correspondence as Sr. Lidwina) was of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Loretto Convent in Guelph, Ontario.
"Father English was a native New Yorker who spent his younger years as a supporter and collaborator in the Catholic Worker Movement in New York with Dorothy Day. [In 1952,] he came to Georgia to serve the Lord and the Church as a Trappist monk in Conyers." (Source: Sanches, Joseph. "The Death Of A Monk" 21 Dec 1972. «The Georgia Bulletin Online Edition: The Newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta». Accessed 3 Dec 2004. ‹http://www.georgiabulletin.org/local/1972/12/21/c/›.)
