Rev. Louis Bouyer, 1913-2004

I learned yesterday of the death of Fr. Louis Bouyer, C.O. The Second Spring web site has the following notice:

Obituary. The death took place on the 22 October 2004 of the theologian Louis Bouyer of the French Oratory at the age of 91.  A friend of Balthasar, Ratzinger and J.R.R. Tolkien, and a co-founder of  the international review Communio, Bouyer was a Lutheran who converted to Catholicism in 1939.  He became a leading figure in the Catholic Biblical and Liturgical movements of the twentieth century,  was an influence on the Second Vatican Council, and is best known by many for his excellent writings on the history of Christian spirituality.  His passing seems to have gone relatively almost unnoticed so far, but he deserves a flood of major tributes.  His books are highly recommended (for example, The Eternal Father, a history of religion published in English in 1999).

Fr. Bouyer's Woman in the Church was one of the first books published by Ignatius Press. Recently, Ignatius published his classic The Word, Church and Sacraments in Protestantism and Catholicism, a short but very insightful examination of key differences between Catholicism and Protestantism, written with sensitivity and warmth.

Fr. Bouyer is among my favorite half dozen or so modern theologians. A brilliant scholar, he communicates with clarity and care. His love for his Lord and the Church is obvious, as is his humility in approaching Scripture and the mysteries of the Faith. My God rest his soul and grant him eternal rest and peace.

Comments

[Ed Peters]

Amen.

[João Oliveira]

Not "The Eternal Father", but: "The Invisible Father", Louis Bouyer, Hugh Gilbert, St. Bede's Publications (October 1, 1999), 319 pages, ISBN: 1879007193

-- from the Comments at:
http://www.ratzingerfanclub.com/blog/2004/12/fr-louis-bouyer-1913-2004.html