John Henry Crosby, Founder & Director of the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project, writes:
Today we celebrate the 122nd birthday of Dietrich von Hildebrand (b. October 12, 1889)! In honor of his legacy, let this day be cause for both rejoicing and reflecting.
I find it astonishing when reading von Hildebrand, whose ideas are always fresh and directly apropos our current needs, to think that this man was born in the 19th century! In a 20th century characterized by the cycle of innovation and obsolescence, von Hildebrand worked to promote and preserve timeless values—some might say he was old fashioned, but the truth is that he was often ahead of his time. This reminds me of something the late Fr. Richard John Neuhaus once wrote in a letter to me:
"There are thinkers who are great in their time, and then there are great thinkers whose time comes and goes. It seems that the time of Dietrich von Hildebrand is coming around again. He was a man of enormous intellectual accomplishment and moral courage who can help equip another generation of Catholics to make the contribution that we owe to the world."
Of course, one of the primary ways we at the Legacy Project are working to “equip another generation” is by translating von Hildebrand’s many major writings from German into English. This is an immense undertaking, made possible by the contributions of many generous and hard-working partners.
Today, I’d like to introduce our wonderful friend and translator, Fr. Brian McNeil, who is nearing completion on the monumental project of translating von Hildebrand's two-volume Aesthetics, which has never before been translated into English. We are enormously happy to be working with such a gifted and accomplished translator.
In addition to his work on von Hildebrand, Fr. McNeil has translated works by Pope Benedict XVI, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, and other major theologians, not to mention a couple volumes of Norwegian poetry! A truly international man, Fr. McNeil was born in Scotland, and by way of Norway and Italy, is currently the pastor of St. Michael’s Catholic Church, the largest parish in Munich, Germany.
Read more on the Legacy Project website.
Ignatius Press has published one book by von Hildebrand, Transformation in Christ: On the Christian Attitude (also available in electronic book format) and a biography, The Soul of a Lion: The Life of Dietrich von Hildebrand, written by his wife, Alice von Hildebrand. Here is an excerpt from the first book:
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