WEIGEL, GUSTAVE

Theologian and ecumenist; b. Buffalo, New York, Jan. 15, 1906; d. New York City, Jan. 3, 1964. Weigel entered the Society of Jesus (1922); made his philosophical and theological studies at Woodstock College, Maryland, where he was ordained (1933); and pursued doctoral studies in theology at the Gregorian University, Rome (1935–37), receiving his degree in 1938. He was professor of dogmatic theology at the Universidad Católica de Chile (1937–48), dean of its faculty of theology (1942–48), and professor of ecclesiology at Woodstock College (1948–64).

Weigel wrote 11 books: Faustus of Riez (Philadelphia 1938); El cristianismo oriental (Buenos Aires 1945); La psicología de la religión (Santiago de Chile 1945); A Catholic Primer on the Ecumenical Movement (Westminster, Md. 1957); Faith and Understanding in America (New York 1959); American Dialogue, with Robert McAfee Brown (New York 1960); Churches in North America (Baltimore 1961); Catholic Theology in Dialogue (New York 1961); Knowledge: Its Values and Limits and Religion and Knowledge of God, both with Arthur Madden (Englewood Cliffs, N.J. 1961); and The Modern God (New York 1963). He wrote numerous articles in journals, books, and encyclopedias; lectured incessantly on college and university campuses throughout the U.S.; was State Department intellectual exchange lecturer in Germany (1953) and in Chile and Colombia (1956); and was a Catholic consultant for the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Weigel's theological activity ultimately centered on ecclesiology and, especially in the last decade of his life, was focused on the ecumenical movement, in which he was a Catholic pioneer in the U.S. Surely the most significant, active, and respected Catholic ecumenist in America, he wedded wide knowledge of Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy to rich personal relationships with non-Catholic scholars, a warm love transcending creedal limits, an uncommon openness to alien viewpoints, and the unsparing gift of himself to others. He was a consulting member of the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity and an official of Vatican Council II, where, during the first two sessions, he was English translator for the non-Catholic observers.

Weigel's theological and ecumenical significance was recognized in honorary degrees from the Universidad Católica de Chile (1956), the University of Vermont (1960), Georgetown University (1962), Yale University (1962), Alfred University (1963), and St. Mary's College, Winona, Minnesota (1963).

[w. j. burghardt]