- Fr. Thomas Berry
Fr. Thomas Berry became a major figure in the environmental movement.
Born William Nathan Berry on November 9, 1914, in North Carolina, he took the name Thomas (after St. Thomas Aquinas) when he professed his vows as a Passionist.
He received his doctorate from Catholic University of America, and spent many years teaching and studying Asian culture and religion. He taught and chaired the history of religions program at Fordham University in New York from 1966-1979. From 1975-1987, he was president of the American Teilhard Association, named after the Jesuit philosopher and scientist, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, who was a major influence on Fr. Berry's work.
Fr. Berry (who called himself a "geologian") wrote many books on the environment, including The Dream of the Earth (1988), The Great Work: Our Way Into the Future (1992), and Evening Thoughts: Reflecting on Earth as Sacred Community (2006).
He died on this day in 2009, and is buried at Green Mountain Monastery in Greensboro, Vermont.
- Little White Book, Diocese of Saginaw