Dates
Biography
M. Basil Pennington was born on July 28, 1931, in Brooklyn, NY and died on June 3, 2005, in Worcester, MA. He received degrees from Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception, 1951; Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, S.T.L. (cum laude), 1959; Pontifical University of the Gregorianum, J.C.B. (summa cum laude), 1962, J.C.L. (summa cum laude), 1963 and did graduate work at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Benedictine International College of St. Anselm. He held memberships with Studies in Formative Spirituality (international board of consultants), Canon Law Society of America, Catholic Theological Society of America, and Association of Cistercian Scholars.
Pennington was a writer, educator, and Cistercian monk and abbot. He entered the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (OCSO; also known as Trappists) in 1951 and ordained as a Roman Catholic priest, in 1957, at St. Joseph's Abbey, Spencer, MA. There he served as a professor of moral theology, from 1959-61, a professor of theology and church law, 1963-2005, a pastoral counselor at Retreat House, 1959-61 and 1963-2005, librarian at Institute of Monastic Studies, 1960- 61, a lecturer at institute, 1971-72, assistant director of novices, summer 1962, and vocation director, 1978-81. He was the head of Monastic Council on Church Law, 1964-2005, a member of the Commission of Law, Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, 1969-2005, and the head of Interreligious Monastic Colloquium, 1977. He was also a member of advisory board, Center for Contemplative Studies, North American Board for East-West Relations, and a member of board of directors of the Lilly Foundation, the John Paul II Center for Prayer and Study for Peace and Food for the Poor, the Mastery Foundation, and a member of Ecumenical Institute of Spirituality and Academie Nationale de Reims. He also served as the founding editor of Cistercian Publications, 1968-73, and was chairperson, 1973-76. Additionally, he was the organizer and director of ecumenical conferences and symposia, a guest lecturer at conferences, institutes, and universities all over the world and a consultant to the Second Vatican Council.
Citation:
"M. Basil Pennington." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 7 Jan. 2013.
Found in 136 Collections and/or Records:
Item — Box 60, Folder: 18, Object: 8
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
This collection is divided into four series: 1) Audio-visual materials 2) Graphic materials 3) The M. Basil Pennington, OCSO Papers - 236 archival boxes and 4) The Pennington Family Collection - 50 archival boxes. The first three series cover the career of Father M. Basil Pennington, OCSO (1931-2005) as a Trappist monk and focuses largely on his writings and presentations on centering prayer, as well as his involvement in ecumenism and interfaith relations. It is comprised primarily of...
Dates:
1951-2003; Majority of material found within 1964-2000; Other: Date acquired: 12/07/1995
File — Box 9, Case: 6, Object: 4
Scope and Contents
From the Series:
This series contains photographs, picture postcards, slides and negatives from M. Basil Pennington's worldwide travels to summits, conferences and symposiums. Also included are snapshots from his visits to abbeys and monasteries around the world and the buildings and people seen there.
Dates:
1951-2003; Majority of material found within 1964-2000; Other: Date acquired: 12/07/1995
Item — Box 60, Folder: 18, Object: 4
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
This collection is divided into four series: 1) Audio-visual materials 2) Graphic materials 3) The M. Basil Pennington, OCSO Papers - 236 archival boxes and 4) The Pennington Family Collection - 50 archival boxes. The first three series cover the career of Father M. Basil Pennington, OCSO (1931-2005) as a Trappist monk and focuses largely on his writings and presentations on centering prayer, as well as his involvement in ecumenism and interfaith relations. It is comprised primarily of...
Dates:
Other: October, 1985
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
This collection is divided into four series: 1) Audio-visual materials 2) Graphic materials 3) The M. Basil Pennington, OCSO Papers - 236 archival boxes and 4) The Pennington Family Collection - 50 archival boxes. The first three series cover the career of Father M. Basil Pennington, OCSO (1931-2005) as a Trappist monk and focuses largely on his writings and presentations on centering prayer, as well as his involvement in ecumenism and interfaith relations. It is comprised primarily of...
Dates:
1951-2003; Majority of material found within 1964-2000; Other: Date acquired: 12/07/1995
Item — Box 60, Folder: 18, Object: 6
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
This collection is divided into four series: 1) Audio-visual materials 2) Graphic materials 3) The M. Basil Pennington, OCSO Papers - 236 archival boxes and 4) The Pennington Family Collection - 50 archival boxes. The first three series cover the career of Father M. Basil Pennington, OCSO (1931-2005) as a Trappist monk and focuses largely on his writings and presentations on centering prayer, as well as his involvement in ecumenism and interfaith relations. It is comprised primarily of...
Dates:
1951-2003; Majority of material found within 1964-2000; Other: Date acquired: 12/07/1995
Item — Box 40, Folder: 6, Object: 1
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
This collection is divided into four series: 1) Audio-visual materials 2) Graphic materials 3) The M. Basil Pennington, OCSO Papers - 236 archival boxes and 4) The Pennington Family Collection - 50 archival boxes. The first three series cover the career of Father M. Basil Pennington, OCSO (1931-2005) as a Trappist monk and focuses largely on his writings and presentations on centering prayer, as well as his involvement in ecumenism and interfaith relations. It is comprised primarily of...
Dates:
1973
Item — Box 60, Folder: 18, Object: 9
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
This collection is divided into four series: 1) Audio-visual materials 2) Graphic materials 3) The M. Basil Pennington, OCSO Papers - 236 archival boxes and 4) The Pennington Family Collection - 50 archival boxes. The first three series cover the career of Father M. Basil Pennington, OCSO (1931-2005) as a Trappist monk and focuses largely on his writings and presentations on centering prayer, as well as his involvement in ecumenism and interfaith relations. It is comprised primarily of...
Dates:
Other: 1985
Item — Box 61, Folder: 3, Object: 1
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
This collection is divided into four series: 1) Audio-visual materials 2) Graphic materials 3) The M. Basil Pennington, OCSO Papers - 236 archival boxes and 4) The Pennington Family Collection - 50 archival boxes. The first three series cover the career of Father M. Basil Pennington, OCSO (1931-2005) as a Trappist monk and focuses largely on his writings and presentations on centering prayer, as well as his involvement in ecumenism and interfaith relations. It is comprised primarily of...
Dates:
November 16, 1982
Item — Box 21, Folder: 1, Object: 1
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
This collection is divided into four series: 1) Audio-visual materials 2) Graphic materials 3) The M. Basil Pennington, OCSO Papers - 236 archival boxes and 4) The Pennington Family Collection - 50 archival boxes. The first three series cover the career of Father M. Basil Pennington, OCSO (1931-2005) as a Trappist monk and focuses largely on his writings and presentations on centering prayer, as well as his involvement in ecumenism and interfaith relations. It is comprised primarily of...
Dates:
1951-2003; Majority of material found within 1964-2000; Other: Date acquired: 12/07/1995
Item — Box 6, Folder: 103, Object: 1
Scope and Contents
From the Series:
This series contains photographs, picture postcards, slides and negatives from M. Basil Pennington's worldwide travels to summits, conferences and symposiums. Also included are snapshots from his visits to abbeys and monasteries around the world and the buildings and people seen there.
Dates:
1951-2003; Majority of material found within 1964-2000; Other: Date acquired: 12/07/1995
