Ricardo Trigueros de León was Director General of Publications for the Ministry of Education in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Gwynedd Fanny Merton Trier (Aunt Gwyn) was the oldest sister of Thomas Merton's father, Owen Merton. She married Erwin Julian Trier in 1915 and moved to England. At the time of writing to Merton in the 1960's, she was living in Fairlawn, West Horsley. Merton used to see her during his breaks from school while attending the nearby Ripley Court. (Source: «The Road to Joy», p. 78.)
Thomas Merton's letter to this recipient addresses her as "Miss Tower." She had sent Merton a copy of a new book by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Vincent Tovell writes on behalf of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Paolo Toufenti writes from Rome, Italy.
João Camilo de Oliveira Torres writes from Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Lucille Tomei was from New York. She writes postcards to Merton while traveling in Germany and Austria.
John M. Todd was publisher from Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd. in London, England. His secretary, Virginia Johnstone, sends Merton a reply.
Richard Tobin was Managing Editor of the «Saturday Review» at the time of writing to Merton. He writes from New York.
Sr. Mary Luke Tobin was former Superior General of the Sisters of Loretto. She writes from the Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx, Kentucky. Sr. Mary Luke was the only American woman who served as an observer to the Second Vatican Council.
Joseph Tjo Tchel-Oung was from Holy Ghost College in Seoul, Korea.
Winifred Tjaden writes from London, England.
Amedeo Tintori writes from Livorno, Italy, concerning Merton's article "Monastic Peace".
David Tillson writes from Brockport, New York.
Paul Tillich was German-born Protestant theologian whose books on systematic theology were among the most influential in theological circles of the 20th Century. He was ordained a Lutheran minister and served as a chaplain in the German army during World War I. He was against this war and he came to realize that the Christian principles underpinning society were under attack. A fierce critic of the Nazi regime, he was one of the first non-Jewish professors to be expelled from a German university. He went to the United States and spent the rest of his career with professorships at Union Theological Seminary, Harvard University, and University of Chicago. (Source: «The Hidden Ground of Love», pp. 575-576.)
Frances Tiller had been writing to Thomas Merton before making a visit to Gethsemani Abbey with her husband, the Rev. Thomas Tiller and their children around September of 1964. They were living in Jackson, Mississippi, and were friends of another of Merton's acquaintances there, Msgr. Josiah G. Chatham.
Fr. Benedict Tighe was a Benedictine monk of Mount Saviour Monastery in Pine City, New York, at the time of writing to Merton. Born Francis James Tighe, he took Benedict in religion. In 1966, he took a sabbatical and served as chaplain on military bases in Europe. He decided not to return to the Benedictines and served the rest of his years as a parish priest in Connecticut. He was honored as a monsignor in 1991 by Pope John Paul II. (Source: "Msgr. Benedict Tighe, served at St. Mary’s". «The Ridgefield Press». Obituaries. Online from Hersam Acorn Newspapers. 17 Oct 2004. Bellarmine University Library. 11 July 2006. ‹http://acorn-online.net/acornonline/obits/tighe.htm›.)
Professor Lars Thunberg wrote a book entitled, «Microcosm and Mediator: The Theological Anthropology of Maximus the Confessor».
Erling A. Thunberg was Coordinating Director for the International Center for Integrative Studies (ICIS). He writes from New York.
Thomas Thompson writes from Dußlingen (Dusslingen), West Germany. He spent half a year at Gethsemani Abbey while Merton was Novice Master, under the name Frater William. He re-entered lay life to study and teach theology and was getting a doctorate in Germany at the time of writing.
Lawrence S. Thompson was Director of the University of Kentucky Libraries at the time of correspondence with Thomas Merton. Merton sent gifts of his manuscripts and other papers for the university's Special Collections and Archives.
Charles Stanley Thompson worked for the British National Heath Service. He converted to Catholicism in 1954. He became involved in a peace organization called the Pax Society, which later allied with the Pax Christi International movement. Thompson served as bulletin editor for the British society's «Pax Bulletin» from 1956-1963. He was also chairperson until 1971. (Source: «The Hidden Ground of Love», p. 571.)
Fr. August Thompson was an African-American priest who was serving at St. Charles Church in Ferriday, Louisiana, at the time of writing to Merton. He was interviewed by John Howard Griffin for an article for «Ramparts» magazine about the experience of being a black Catholic priest and the effects of racism on the Catholic Church. He ran into some trouble with his bishop, Charles Pasquale Greco, of Alexandria, Louisiana. The bishop disputed many claims of institutional racism by Thompson, and was even angrier that the Church was given a bad image publicly on this issue. Thompson met Merton in 1963 and corresponded with him for a number of years.
Mother Mary Thomas was of the Order of St. Clare and served as superior of the Monastery of St. Clare in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Fr. Thomas was a Trappist monk of the Abbey of the Genesee in Piffard, New York.
In 1967, one year before his death, Merton established the Merton Legacy Trust, naming Bellarmine College as the repository of his manuscripts, letters, journals, tapes, drawings, photographs, and memorabilia. Two years later, in October 1969, the College established the Thomas Merton Center, with the Collection as its focal point. (Merton first deposited a collection of papers at Bellarmine College for a Merton Room in the library in 1963.) The Center serves as a regional, national, and international resource for scholarship and inquiry on Merton and his works and also on the ideas he promoted: contemplative life, spirituality, ecumenism, East-West relations, personal and corporate inner work, peace, and social justice. The Merton Center regularly sponsors courses, lectures, retreats, seminars, Road Scholar [elderhostel], and exhibits for scholars, students, and the general public.
Sr. Thomais writes from the Sat Tal Ashram (Sattal Ashram), a Christian ashram in Nainital, India.
Mother Mary Therese was superior of a Carmelite monastery in Plainfield, New Hampshire.
Sr. Thérèse de l'Enfant Jesus et de l'Immaculée was a Carmelite nun from France.
Fr. Kenneth R. Terry was a priest of the Order of the Holy Cross of the Episcopal Church. At the time of writing, he was Master of Postulants. He writes from West Park, New York.
Fr. Teresius was a Carmelite priest from Mexico City, Mexico.
Sr. Teresita of the Child Jesus was a Carmelite nun from New York.
Sr. Teresa was a Carmelite nun and prioress of a monastery in Norwich, England.
Sr. M. Teresa was Prioress of the Carmelite Monastery of the Holy Family in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Dame M. Teresa was a Benedictine nun of St. Scholastica Abbey in Teignmouth, Devon, England.
Sr. Teresa Marie was a Maryknoll sister from Maryknoll, New York.
Tomas Tebé was an editor from Editorial Selecta in Barcelona, Spain.
Brenda Taylor was Speakers Chairman for the University of Oklahoma's Conference on Religion. She writes from Norman, Oklahoma.
Note that Rev. Theodore Nelson (Ted) Tatman later in life legally changed his name to Theodore N. McGill.
The Rev. Francis C. Tatem, Jr. was Associate Rector for Religious Education at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church in Rochester, New York.
Lawrence X. Tarpey, Sr. writes from Lexington, Kentucky.
Manuel Tarín Iglesias writes on behalf of the Sociedad Española de Radiodifusión in Barcelona, Spain.
William Targ writes from New York.
Roslyn Targ writes from New York.
Domenico Cardinal Tardini was an Italian priest who held high positions in the Roman Catholic Curia during the tenure of Pope Pius XII and was later elevated to cardinal and Secretary of State of the Vatican under Pope John XXIII in 1958.
Richard Taplinger was head of Taplinger Publishing Company in New York.
Br. Francis Taparra was a Trappist monk from the monastery on Lantao Island near Hong Kong.
C. H. Talbot was a scholar from the Warburg Institute of London, England. He had written about medieval figures, such as Bernard of Clairvaux and William of York.
Marie Tadié, from Paris, France, served as translator and publishing agent for many of Merton's works in French, Spanish and Italian. Relations later became strained between Tadié, on one side, and Merton, his abbey and his American publishers on the other. Tadié tries to leverage exclusive rights to serve as translation and publishing agent for all Merton's books in romance languages. Merton, Gethsemani Abbey, Merton's American publishers, and Naomi Burton Stone were against this idea, and refused her offer. This prompted threats of legal action from Tadié.
Tadashi Kudo writes while on retreat at a Trappist monastery in Hokkaido, Japan.
Leo Szilard was a Hungarian-born scientist who, along with Enrico Fermi in 1955, was awarded a patent for a nuclear fission reactor. In 1942, along with Fermi, he conducted the first controlled nuclear chain reaction. He coordinated the letter from Einstein which was sent to President Roosevelt that led to the commencement of the Manhattan Project. After the Second World War, he became involved in the movement to limit nuclear arms, give control to the civilian populace, and to prevent nuclear war. He also shifted from nuclear physics and engineering to molecular biology. (Source: "Hall of Fame: Inventor's Profile - Leo Szilard." Website of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. 2002. Accessed 20 June 2006. Bellarmine University Library. ‹http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/141.html›.)
Mother Sylvia Marie was Superior of the Little Sisters of the Poor of Louisville, Kentucky.
Fr. Sylvester was a Trappist monk who went to Gethsemani's new foundation, the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, in Huntsville, Utah.
John M. Swomley was editor of «Current Issues», published by the peace and social justice group, The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) of Nyack, New York.
Fr. Francis W. Sweeney was a Jesuit priest who was a writing and literature professor at Boston College from 1951-1998. Merton first came into contact with him after Sweeney sent him some poems during his seminary years at Weston College in the late 1940's. Sweeney later headed Boston College's Humanities Lecture Series. Merton and Sweeney corresponded intermittently throughout the rest of Merton's life.
Daisetz T. Suzuki was one of the most influential scholars in bringing Zen Buddhism to the West. He was born in Kanazawa, Japan. He taught at universities in Europe, Japan and the United States. Merton rarely traveled during his years at Gethsemani Abbey, but received permission in 1964 to visit Suzuki at Columbia University in New York. (Source: «The Hidden Ground of Love», pp. 560-561.)
