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M. Basil Pennington papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS-1990-004

Dates

  • Creation: 1949-2003

Scope and Contents

Papers document M. Basil Pennington's writings and teachings as a Trappist monk and priest, especially about Centering Prayer, Cistercian history, and Thomas Merton. Includes articles written by and about Pennington, book manuscripts, correspondence, event ephemera, and reviews of Pennington's work.

Creator

Restrictions on access

Collection is closed for reprocessing. Videocassette has been digitally copied; all original media were retained, but may not be played due to format. Digital use copies can only be accessed in the Burns Library Reading Room.

Restrictions on use

These materials are made available for use in research, teaching and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may retain copyright to the materials.

Biographical note

Born in Queens, New York, on July 28, 1931, as Robert Pennington, M. Basil Pennington moved with his family to Freeport, Long Island, as a young child, and attended parochial school there for a year and a half. When his father died, his mother returned the family to Brooklyn, where he attended another parochial school and then entered the Minor Seminary of the Diocese of Brooklyn (Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception), which he attended from 1945 to 1951. Pennington was active during his teenage years in the Legion of Mary, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD), and Catholic Youth Organization (CYO), working among the disadvantaged in Brooklyn parishes.

After graduating from Cathedral College in Brooklyn, New York, Pennington entered the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (OCSO, also known as Trappists) at the Abbey of Our Lady of Saint Joseph in Spencer, Massachusetts in 1951, and took the name Mary Basil upon profession as a monk in 1953. After ordination as a priest in 1957, he spent several years in Rome earning an S.T.L. from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas and a J.C.L. from the Gregorianum.

Pennington started Cistercian Publications in 1968, primarily to increase the availability of modern translations and commentaries on central Cistercian and other Christian theological texts. Cistercian Publications moved to the newly founded Institute of Cistercian Studies at Western Michigan University at Kalamazoo in 1973. Pennington was a prolific author in his own right, and published nearly 60 books and numerous articles throughout his career, including books about Thomas Merton, Bernard of Clairvaux, and other Cistercian fathers; books about ecumenical monastic tradition; and books about Centering Prayer.

Pennington became publicly known through the Centering Prayer movement, a revitalization of a historic Christian contemplative prayer form taught by John Cassian and others. According to Pennington, the name “Centering Prayer” came from Thomas Merton, who would say that the easiest way to come into the experience of God and communion with God is to go to your own center and pass through that center into the center of God. Pennington also was heavily involved in fostering ecumenical cooperation in monasticism, especially between Eastern and Western Christian traditions and between Christian, Buddhist and Hindu traditions.

M. Basil Pennington died on June 3, 2005 following injuries sustained in a car accident the previous March.

Sources:

"Father Pennington to Speak at Vespers." The Mirror 23, no. 22 (1987), 1-3.

O'Connor, Liz, "Father Pennington and the Centering Prayer." The Catholic Digest. May, 1980, 95-98.

Power, John, C.P. "A Matter of Love." Passionist Series, no. 1284.

Reidy, Pamela, "Abbot M. Basil Pennington, July 23, 1931 - June 3, 2005", The Mastery Foundation, 2005. https://www.masteryfoundation.org/people_basil.html. Accessed April 24, 2024.

Schnell, Kelsey, “How is Devotion to Mary manifested in the Lives of Trappists?”, Trappist Brothers & Sisters, February 14, 2018. https://www.trappists.org/2018/02/14/how-is-devotion-to-mary-manifested-in-the-lives-of-trappists/. Accessed April 4, 2024.

Extent

16.5 Linear Feet (26 containers)

10 Gigabytes (1 file with 5 minutes of video)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Papers document twentieth-century scholar and Trappist monk M. Basil Pennington's writings and teachings, especially about Centering Prayer, Cistercian history, and Thomas Merton. Includes articles written by and about Pennington, book manuscripts, correspondence, event ephemera, and reviews of Pennington's work.

Arrangement

In three series: I. Correspondence; II. Scholarship and service; and III. Works by others.

Series II has three sub-series: A. Conferences and presentations; B. Priestly functions; and C. Writings.

Series III has two sub-series: A. About M. Basil Pennington and Centering Prayer; and B. About or by Thomas Merton.

Provenance

Materials were given to Boston College on permanent loan by M. Basil Pennington, 1990-2000. They remain the property of Saint Joseph's Abbey.

Related Materials

Boston College collection of Thomas Merton, MS.1986.063, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

Jim Forest papers, MS.1989.021, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

M. Basil Pennington OCSO Archive, 01-exws_mbpennington. Western Michigan University Special Collections. https://aspace.library.wmich.edu/repositories/2/resources/51.

Title
M. Basil Pennington Papers
Status
Under Revision
Subtitle
1949-2003
Author
unknown; updated by Annesley Anderson, 2019; Elizabeth Peters, 2024
Date
2024
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the John J. Burns Library Repository

Contact:
John J. Burns Library
Boston College
140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill MA 02467 USA
617-552-4861