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Lawrence Cunningham - d. 2/20/25

03/20/2025 4:00 PM | Anonymous

The CTSA remembers and prays for Lawrence Cunningham who died on February 20, 2025.

Photo of Lawrence Cunningham

Eternal rest grant unto Larry, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen


Memorial Reflection

Obituary

Comments

  • 03/20/2025 5:17 PM | Rev Thomas P Rausch SJ
    Larry Cunningham was one of the giants of Catholic Theology in the US. Deeply devoted to the Church and the Catholic tradition, his many works nourished the faith of several generations of American Catholics. We will miss him.
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  • 03/20/2025 6:25 PM | Christopher Pramuk
    Larry was indeed a key mentor for me in my time at ND. In writing on Merton, certainly, as was Bob Krieg, but also the course I took with him on Newman, which proved critical for me in opening doors to Merton. Of course, he was and remains a giant in Merton studies and long before I met him I enjoyed his regular Commonweal book notes column, a master class in reviewing. He had such a gift for lucid (and efficient!) prose.

    I'll never forget getting the draft of my last dissertation chapter back from him, blanketed in more red ink than I'd ever seen. To that point he had left me mostly to my own devices, encouraging me to trust wherever the research led me, but when I needed to be reined in, he didn't hesitate and could be quite pointed in his critiques! (Something about "avoiding Pramukian exit ramps".)

    Perhaps above all, for me, he conveyed the contemplative dimension of the Christian mystical tradition with both seriousness and delight, never failing to emphasize the integral relationship between theology and prayer (Cassian). For that lesson, lived as much as spoken, I will always be grateful.
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  • 03/21/2025 12:14 PM | Grace Mariette Agolia
    Requiescat in pace. Prof. Cunningham was retired by the time I was a student at ND, but we often served as lectors together at the 5pm vigil liturgy at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. I fondly remember our conversations before and after mass. It was a gift to share our love for proclaiming God's word!
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