Archbishop John Floersh served as bishop of Louisville archdiocese from 1924-1967.
Flanagan, usually publishing under Fr. M. Raymond, was another Gethsemani author whose writing career started in the early forties, slightly before Merton's, and ran contemporaneously with Merton's through the late sixties. Quite different in style and substance from Merton's work, Flanagan's books include «The Man Who Got Even with God», «God Goes to Murderers Row», and «Burnt-Out Incense». Merton and Flanagan often saw each other at opposing ends of disagreements about theology or the training of novices.
James T. Flanagan was an attorney with the law offices of Driscoll, Flanagan and Ramos from New Orleans, Louisiana.
Archbishop George Bernard Flahiff, elevated to Cardinal in 1969, was bishop of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. At the Second Vatican Council, he was involved in what was known as Schema 13, which became «Gaudium et Spes», the Pontifical Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. Merton was particularly interested in the sections on peace, war, and how it would address nuclear weapons.
Fr. Daniel L. Flaherty was a Jesuit priest and book editor for «America» magazine.
James Fitzsimmons was editor of «The Lugano Review» and writes from Switzerland.
Sr. Patricia Fitzpatrick was a Benedictine from Mount Saint Benedict Convent and Corbett College in Crookston, Minnesota.
Robert J. Fitzgibbon was editor of «Family Weekly» and writes from New York.
Wesley First was director of the office of University Relations at Columbia University in New York.
Ed Finnigan writes from Chicago, Illinois.
James Finn was editor of «Worldview» "a journal of religion and international affairs".
Jeremiah Stanton Finch was dean of the Vanderbilt University Divinity School at the time of correspondence and was trying to arrange a faculty retreat at Gethsemani.
Art Fillmore, from St. Louis, Missouri, writes to Merton on stationery of the Hotel Tequendama in Bogotá, Colombia.
Armando Rezende Filho writes from Brazil.
Mother General of Figlie Della Chiesa writes from Rome.
George L. Fields was in medical school at the University of Kentucky in 1968 while writing to Merton.
Fr. James Justin Field was a Dominican and Bishop of St. Georges-in-Grenada.
Fran Fevrier took over the role as poetry editor for «The Florida Quarterly» from Martin Lee Curry who became general editor. This literary magazine began at University of Florida in Gainesville in 1967 and was the first of its kind at the university. Curry convinced Merton to send in a poem for the first issue. Merton also contributed the poem "Welcome" for the second issue, which was published in November of 1967.
Fr. Anastasius Fettig was Prior at Gethsemani at the time of this correspondence. He was reacting to the negative response among some about Merton's pamphlet he distributed before the 1968 abbatial election, "My Campaign Platform for Non-Abbot and Permanent Keeper of Present Doghouse".
Sidney Feshbach writes from the Department of English at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
W. H. Ferry, also known as Ping Ferry, was vice-president of the Center for Democratic Institutions at Santa Barbara from 1954-1969. In 1961, Merton first wrote to W. H. Ferry, having been introduced to pamphlets produced by the Center for Democratic Institutions by James Laughlin. This began a dialog between the two that continued through the rest of Merton's life. Ferry first came to visit Gethsemani in November of 1964 for a meeting with the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) and others on peace that was attended by Daniel and Philip Berrigan, A. J. Muste, John Howard Yoder, among others. Ferry drove Merton along the northern California coast as Merton scoped out areas for a possible new hermitage. He was also present to see Merton off when his flight left for Asia. (Source: «The Hidden Ground of Love», p. 201.)
Thomas Hornsby Ferril was an acclaimed poet of the Rocky Mountains, born and living the rest of his years in Denver, Colorado.
Joseph Ferraro was assistant professor of philosophy at University of the Americas in Mexico at the time of writing to Merton. He had written a dissertation on the theological virtues of St. John of the Cross and the relation to St. Thomas Aquinas, «Las virtudes teologales en la doctrina de San Juan de la Cruz».
Lawrence Ferlinghetti was editor and publisher of City Lights Books in San Francisco that was one of the most prominent publications of the beat movement in San Francisco. He wrote poetry and plays as well as running a bookstore, City Lights, the same name as the publishing house. Merton and Ferlinghetti met in person in San Francisco on May 16, 1968. (Source: «The Courage for Truth», p. 267.)
R. Fentener van Vlissingen was a psychiatrist writing from Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Sr. Felicitas was an American Benedictine nun who had asked Merton about racial integration for monasteries (source: «The School of Charity», p. 218).
Richard Felciano was Ford Foundation composer-in-residence for the Detroit Public Schools at the time of correspondence. He wanted to use Merton's poem, "The Captives - A Psalm" for a setting for chorus and orchestra. He later became professor of music at the University of California at Berkeley.
Bishop John Michael Fearns was an auxiliary bishop who served the Archdiocese of New York from 1957 to 1972.
Marie Faugeron writes on behalf of the «Action Civique Non-Violent» from St-Didier-au-Mt-d'Or in France.
Edward Farrell was coordinator of a workshop arranged by the San Francisco Planning and Urban Renewal Association (SPUR).
Charles P. Farnsley served as Louisville mayor from 1948-1953. Merton asks his help in obtaining books about American democracy in preparation to obtain U.S. citizenship.
Fr. Hugh Farmer was a Benedictine monk of Quarr Abbey on the northern coast of the Isle of Wight.
Mario Falsina was a student at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, Italy, and was living in Bergamo. He was writing a thesis on Merton and asks him six questions to which Merton replies.