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.
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. Sylvester was a Trappist monk who went to Gethsemani's new foundation, the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, in Huntsville, Utah.
Mother Sylvia Marie was Superior of the Little Sisters of the Poor of Louisville, Kentucky.
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›.)
Tadashi Kudo writes while on retreat at a Trappist monastery in Hokkaido, Japan.
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.
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.
Br. Francis Taparra was a Trappist monk from the monastery on Lantao Island near Hong Kong.
Richard Taplinger was head of Taplinger Publishing Company in 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.
Roslyn Targ writes from New York.
William Targ writes from New York.
Manuel Tarín Iglesias writes on behalf of the Sociedad Española de Radiodifusión in Barcelona, Spain.
Lawrence X. Tarpey, Sr. writes from Lexington, Kentucky.
The Rev. Francis C. Tatem, Jr. was Associate Rector for Religious Education at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church in Rochester, New York.
Note that Rev. Theodore Nelson (Ted) Tatman later in life legally changed his name to Theodore N. McGill.
Brenda Taylor was Speakers Chairman for the University of Oklahoma's Conference on Religion. She writes from Norman, Oklahoma.
Tomas Tebé was an editor from Editorial Selecta in Barcelona, Spain.
Sr. Teresa Marie was a Maryknoll sister from Maryknoll, New York.
Dame M. Teresa was a Benedictine nun of St. Scholastica Abbey in Teignmouth, Devon, England.
Sr. M. Teresa was Prioress of the Carmelite Monastery of the Holy Family in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Sr. Teresa was a Carmelite nun and prioress of a monastery in Norwich, England.
Sr. Teresita of the Child Jesus was a Carmelite nun from New York.
Fr. Teresius was a Carmelite priest from Mexico City, Mexico.
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.
Sr. Thérèse de l'Enfant Jesus et de l'Immaculée was a Carmelite nun from France.
Mother Mary Therese was superior of a Carmelite monastery in Plainfield, New Hampshire.
Sr. Thomais writes from the Sat Tal Ashram (Sattal Ashram), a Christian ashram in Nainital, India.
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.
Fr. Thomas was a Trappist monk of the Abbey of the Genesee in Piffard, New York.
Mother Mary Thomas was of the Order of St. Clare and served as superior of the Monastery of St. Clare in Lowell, Massachusetts.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
Erling A. Thunberg was Coordinating Director for the International Center for Integrative Studies (ICIS). He writes from New York.
Professor Lars Thunberg wrote a book entitled, «Microcosm and Mediator: The Theological Anthropology of Maximus the Confessor».