Raymond G. Helmick, SJ was born on September 7, 1931, in Arlington, Massachusetts, to Raymond and Alice (Clancy) Helmick. He was one of three children. Helmick began his education at St. Agnes School in Arlington, before attending Boston College High School, where he graduated in 1949.

Helmick entered the New England Province of Jesuits in September 1949, and, after a break due to ill health, completed his novitiate in 1954. Helmick studied at Weston College where he received his Licentiate in Philosophy. During this time he also received his B. A. in 1956 and his M. A. in philosophy in 1957, both from Boston College.

Helmick served on the faculty at St. George’s College in Kingston, Jamaica, where he taught history (1957-1960) and English (1965-1967). Between stints teaching in Jamaica, he attended Hochschule Sankt Georgen in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, where he received his Licentiate in Theology. He was ordained in Germany in 1963. From 1967 to 1973, Helmick studied theology at the Union Theological Seminary in New York as a graduate student. He took his Final Vows in 1973 in London, England.

That same year, Helmick began his career in conflict resolution. He worked for multiple organizations, focusing on areas of turmoil around the world, and maintained correspondence with numerous world leaders. Helmick’s primary areas of interest included Israel and Palestine; the Kurds in Iraq and Turkey; Lebanon; and Northern Ireland. Additionally, he was a member of the 1999 U. S. Interfaith delegation accompanying Jesse Jackson to Belgrade, Yugoslavia, which resulted in the release of captured U. S. soldiers.

Helmick worked for the Centre for Human Rights and Responsibilities in London, England, from approximately 1973 until July 1979. He became the co-founder of the Centre of Concern for Human Dignity in Dublin, Ireland, and London. He worked for this organization from approximately August 1979 until September of 1981. From 1981 until 1984 Helmick lived in Washington, D. C. at the St. Aloysius Gonzaga Jesuit Community. While in Washington, he worked to promote the creation of what would become the United States Institute of Peace and also worked for the Washington Research Consortium (later the Conflict Analysis Center). In 1984, Helmick moved back to Massachusetts to become a professor at Boston College, where he taught classes on conflict resolution and theology in the Department of Theology. He remained a professor until 2015. He remained active in his efforts for conflict resolution around the world, including becoming co-founder of the United States Interreligious Committee for Peace in the Middle East.

Throughout his career, Helmick published articles and books about both religion and conflict resolution, including Negotiating Outside the Law: Why Camp David Failed (2004); Through a Lens Darkly: Films of Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing and Atrocities (2010); and Crisis of Confidence in the Catholic Church (2014).

Helmick died on April 21, 2016.

Sources:

"Bio." Rev. Raymond Helmick, SJ. Accessed April 17, 2018. http://www.raymondhelmicksj.com/about.html.

Campbell, Kathryn. "Rev. Raymond G. S.J. Helmick's Obituary on Boston Globe." Boston Globe. April 24, 2016. Accessed April 17, 2018. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?pid=179717725.