The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University

MERTON'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH:
Walsh, Daniel, Fr., 1907-1975

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Descriptive Summary

Record Group: Section A - Correspondence

Dates of materials: 1939-1968

Volume: 102 item(s); 128 pg(s)

Scope and Content

Biography

Daniel Walsh was a life-long educator and one of the most influential professors on Merton's life. After earning a doctorate at University of Toronto alongside Étienne Gilson, Walsh became professor at Manhattanville College in New York from 1934-1960. In addition, he was a visiting professor of philosophy at Columbia from 1936-1955, and afterward serving as an adjunct professor at Columbia. In 1939, Merton had Walsh for a course on St. Thomas Aquinas. At the bar of the Biltmore Hotel in New York in 1939, Merton told Walsh of his interest in religious life. After mentioning difference orders, including that he was impressed by the Trappists at Gethsemani Abbey, Walsh recommended the Franciscans. Merton would later be rejected by the Franciscans, but remember Walsh's praise of the Trappists. Later, Walsh would join Merton at Gethsemani Abbey in 1960 as a advisor and new professor for the abbey's philosophy program. He soon became a visiting professor at Bellarmine College in Louisville. Archbishop John Floersh offered to ordain the sixty-year-old Walsh a priest in 1967. A surprised but delighted Walsh was ordained at St. Thomas Seminary, a ceremony attended by Merton. Walsh died in 1975 and is buried near the monastic enclosure at Gethsemani Abbey. (Source: The Thomas Merton Encyclopedia, pp. 515-516.)

Usage Guidelines and Restrictions

Related Information and Links

See also the "Skakel, Ann Brannack" and "Gilson, Étienne" files additional letters; and see also published letters from Merton to Walsh in The Road to Joy, pp. 304-307.

Other Finding Aids

If the person in correspondence with Merton has full text records in the Merton Center Digital Collections, there will be a numeric link to them below.
   

Series List

Series NumberSeries NameTotal Records
1 Daniel Walsh Correspondence with Thomas Merton 79
2 Lists of Materials Donated to the Thomas Merton Collection at Bellarmine College 15
3 Newspaper Clippings Concerning Walsh 8

Container List

SeriesDateTypeTo/FromFirst LinesPubFull TextNotes
11939/12/05 TLS from Faust, Mathias / to MertonMany thanks for your kind letter of recommendation of Thomas Merton addressed to Very Rev. Fr.  [from Fr. Mathias Faust, O.F.M., Provincial Custos of the Franciscan Fathers, Province of the Most Holy Name in New York City]
11949/02/21 TALSto MertonThis letter is long over-due. In fact it was begun almost every day since the beginning of last   
11949/02/24 TLSfrom MertonMany thanks for your beautiful letter. I am sorry this Boston College exhibition has grown to suchYes [no year listed - dated "Feast of St Mathias"]
11949/06/03 TLSto MertonBeing back in New York is like waking up after a wonderful dream but unlike the usual dream, it is   
11949/09/03 (#01)TLfrom MertonMany thanks for your beautiful feast-day letter and all that it contained. I am sorry that my   
11949/09/03 (#02)TLfrom Merton   [see "Skakel, Ann Brannack" file - partial (faded) scan from web auction - not original - see 2004/05/27 letter from the "Skakel, Ann Brannack" file]
11951/08/29 TLSfrom MertonHere are a couple of items that arrived in the main for you since your departure. I do not know ifYes  
11953/02/05 TLS[x]to Skakel, AnnI just returned from a luncheon date with Bob Giroux - we celebrated the publication of  [see "Skakel, Ann Brannack" file - full page scan from web auction - not original - see 2004/05/27 letter from "Skakel, Ann Brannack" file]
11960/04/23 TLSfrom MertonFather Abbot has told me something of your illness and I am very sorry to hear about it.   
11960/11/01 (#01)HNSfrom MertonI thought you would want to see this heartbreaking letter from Jacques Maritain.Yes  
11960/11/01 (#02)HNS[x]to O'Callaghan, TommieJust a note to thank you for your generous letter.Yes [see "O'Callaghan, Tommie" file, letter n.d.[09], for a clearer copy of this letter from Walsh to O'Callaghan - Merton sends Walsh a letter from Jacques Maritain concerning the death of Raissa Maritain - Walsh writes and forwards the letter to O'Callaghan (forwarded probably much later than 1960)]
11960/11/01 (#03)HLS[x]to O'Callaghan, TommieJust a note to thank you for your generous letter. I was sure you would appreciate having  [letter, sent later than 1960, accompanying the a note from Merton to Walsh and a letter from Jacques Maritain to Merton - letter from Maritain not extant - Thomasine (Tommie) O'Callaghan was a friend of Merton and original member of the Merton Legacy Trust]
11961/03/07 TPCS[x]from MertonAs a token of union in charity on the Feast of the Angelic Doctor I am sending you this copy   
11963/08/23 (#01)other[x] 100 New Frontier Accommodations (Concessions) Listed [-] Editor's note: Shortly after John F.  [1963/08/23 edition of <u>The Knoxville Journal</u> with a highlighted article on John F. Kennedy and "concessions made to World Communism"]
11963/08/23 (#02)other[x] KENNEDY CUBAN POLICY ATTACKED BY DISTINGUISHED AMERICAN CATHOLICS* [-] Clarence Manion,  [article with reprints attacking John F. Kennedy's policy on Cuba by Clarence Manion of <u>The Manion Forum</u> and William F. Buckley, Jr. of <u>The National Review</u> - dated 1962/03/21, but sent with clipping of 1963 from <u>The Knoxville Journal</u>]
11963/08/23 (#03)other[x] <u>An Editorial</u> [-] Number One Liar In the United States, John F. Kennedy  [editorial by William Loeb in the <u>Manchester Union Leader</u> of New Hampshire]
11963/11/no TLSfrom MertonA long time ago Rev Fr approved Gabriel Marcel coming here, at least in a general way. You can goYes  
11963/no/no? otherfrom Edward, Fr., O.C.S.O.GOLDEN JUBILEE of entrance into Gethsemani [-] Father M. Edward, O.C.S.O. [-] November 29 1913 1963  [2 prayer cards - card celebrating Fr. M. Edward's jubilee has his handwritten note (to Walsh?)]
11964/07/02 TLSto MertonThe thanks which this note brings are long, too long in the saying. But you will accept   
11964/07/15 TLSto MertonThe cheese which you sent to me was delicious and I wanted you to know how much we enjoyed it.   
11964/10/09 other[x] Report on the Meeting of Novicemasters (OCSO) of North &amp; South America, at Gethsemani Abbey,   
11964/10/28? other[x] <u>INTER-FAITH STATEMENT ON THE PLACE OF MORALITY IN THE CAMPAIGN</u>  [statement by a number of theologians, religious leaders and religious writers about the distortion of the term "morality" and its use as a weapon in the presidential campaigns of 1964 - Merton's name is listed]
11964/11/08 other[c] FORMAL OPENING OF THE THOMAS MERTON ROOM [-] Bellarmine College [-] November 8, 1964  [remarks by Fr. John Loftus, Dean of Bellarmine College, on the opening of Bellarmine's Thomas Merton Room]
11965/02/26 TLSfrom Wolter, AllanThe topic <u>The Spiritual Horizons of St. Anselm in the Intellectual development of Duns Scotus</u>   
11965/03/19 other Nun Educator Accent New Experiences [-] "Go, try!" might well be the motto engraved on Sister  [issue of the student newspaper, <u>The Tower</u>, of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.]
11965/03/26 other THE SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY [-] Colloquium in Honor of the SEVENTH CENTENARY of the birth of  [program for a colloquium in honor of John Duns Scotus, held at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and attended by Walsh]
11965/04/22 TLfrom Evans, PeggyI can say that with new emphasis this year -- I just realized my baby sister is having her 20th  [from Peggy Mullin Evans of Seoul, Korea - Class Letter, Class of 1941, from the Manhattanville Alumnae Association of Manhattanville College, Purchase, New York, where Walsh previously taught]
11965/05/05 TLS[x]from Clement, Br., O.C.S.O.Mr. Jack Kelly [ Brother Marcellus ] has been the Procurator at the Abbey of Gethsemani   
11965/05/11 TLSfrom Morse, NinaYour Easter card for Mrs. Hoguet came in sometime ago - and it seemed that you did not know that she  [Nina J. Morse, secretary for the then recently deceased Mrs. Robert Louis Hoguet of New York City]
11965/07/20 TLSfrom Alexander, StuartI am in receipt of your letter regarding your very unfortunate experience on the bus and I am doubly  [from Stuart E. Alexander, attorney with the Law Offices of Tilford &amp; Dobbins in Louisville, Kentucky]
11965/07/26 other BELLARMINE COLLEGE PART-TIME FACULTY EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT [-] This agreement made  [employment contract for Walsh to teach two philosophy classes at Bellarmine College]
11965/no/no HPCSfrom Fox, James+Blessings and grateful prayers for dear Dan as we commence our Gen. Chapter for 1965.  [verso: black and white photograph of the Citeaux Abbey with a clock tower and a sign quoting Bernard of Clairvaux, "O Beata Solitudo"]
11966/01/27 TLSto Jim [Forest?]Congratulations on a beautiful job - you made everything fit together so well - a fine piece   
11966/09/05 HLSfrom McCorkell, EdwardMay I send you a thanks, and [indecipherable word..] you a note of appreciation to Father Merton  [from Fr. Edmund J. McCorkell, a Basilian priest from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York]
11966/09/29 TLSto MertonIs it next Wednesday when we are to meet? The following Wednesday will be the 6th which, I believe,   
11966/11/28 TLSfrom MertonCould you please have Tommy's friend, the typist, type these   
11967/07/26 HCSto MertonThis is an adventure I hardly anticipated even in my wildest imaginings. To begin, I had never been   
11967/10/05 (#01)TAL[c]from MertonI enjoyed the visit yesterday, and I will be glad to see Virginia next Tuesday. However, in orderYes  
11967/10/05 (#02)HLSto MertonI asked Virginia in a note to meet us at 2:30 PM. - OK. I didn't mean to cause you any concern   
11967/12/22 HNS from Merton to J [?]Can you use these? You are welcome to them. Best wishes for New Year [-] Tom  [likely among some newspaper clippings of Walsh's ordination]
11968/01/28 other St. Joseph's Retreat House Annual RETREAT CAPTAINS AND WIVES BANQUET [-] SHERATON MOTOR  [program for a banquet featuring Walsh - includes a photograph of Merton and Walsh processing from the Mass of Walsh's ordination]
11968/10/no? HPCS[x]from MertonIndia is terrific. I've been very busy so far but now the conference is over and I hope to have  [verso: color photographic image of "Elephant ride, Amber Palace, Jaipur" / printed on same paper with scan a of Merton in suit and clerics and a woman religious in habit / there is no date on the postcard, but is likely to be late October after Merton had finished his conference in Calcutta but before his trip to Dharmsala]
11968/12/03 HPCS[x]from MertonCeylon has been the best thing so far - it is utterly beautiful - and unspoiled. Bro Pat told me of  [verso: color landscape of Ceylon / printed on same paper with scans [of later date] of Merton's grave marker and of two men digging his grave]
11969/11/04 telegramfrom Kennedy, Ethel (Skakel)Thomas Merton was a great spiritual force in so many of our lives. I know how much he meant to  [see "Kennedy, Ethel (Skakel) file"] condolences for Merton's death and regrets about not being able to attend opening of the Thomas Merton Studies Center
1undated/04/21 HLSfrom Francis, Fr.I found Fr. Stuhlmueller's paper quite interesting and thought-provoking. It is evident that he is  [from a "Father Francis" writing to Walsh on Gethsemani Abbey stationery - possibly Fr. Francis Derivaux, O.C.S.O. (later left Trappists and was Fr. Don Derivaux)
1undated/no/no (#01)TNSfrom MertonI am sorry to have kept Fr Feliciano's letter so long. I am sending him a Spanish translation of my  [see "O'Callaghan, Tommie" file, letter n.d.[07], for a copy of this letter and a note from Fr. Balwin and Merton]
1undated/no/no (#02)HNSfrom MertonI am sorry I could not tell you before now but Rev. Father would not give permission for us to go   
1undated/no/no (#03)TNSto Mertonfor Fr. M. Louis, from dan walsh [-] after-thoughts of Friday evening  [likely attached to something else, either not identified or not extant]
1undated/no/no (#04)HPCSto MertonMany and profound thanks for the "New Seeds" and the beautiful inscription. I showed it to Mother  [verso: color postcard from Maria Laach in Germany]
1undated/no/no (#05)other EASTER [-] THE LITURGY OF THE WORD OF GOD [-] ENTRANCE RITE [-] The Entrance Rite,  [Easter Mass leaflet - Copyright 1965]
1undated/no/no (#06)otherto Joseph, Br.JOHN HOWARD GRIFFIN AND FATHER DOMINIQUE PIRE ANNOUNCE THAT "WORLD FRIENDSHIP,"   
1undated/no/no (#07)other THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA [-] WASHINGTON, D.C. [-] ATTACHED CHECK COVERS  [check stub for honorarium fee (paid to Walsh?) by Catholic University of America]
1undated/no/no (#08)HNSfrom MertonSorry - I have a visitor to see tonight. Are you free tomorrow Wednesday, even if a little late?   
1undated/no/no (#09)HNSfrom MertonOnce again I won't be able to make it tonight, I have another severe attack of diarrhea with fever.   
1undated/no/no (#10)HNSfrom MertonAre you back? I will be over Wednesday evening in case! [-] Yrs in Xt [-] Tom   
1undated/no/no (#11)HNSfrom MertonI will be there Tuesday at 6.10 <u>if I can</u> - All is unpredictable, but I think I can make it   
1undated/no/no (#12)HNSfrom MertonI probably won't be able to make it tonight. See you Monday unless I hear otherwise [-] In Jesu   
1undated/no/no (#13)TLSto MertonWill be glad to bring the material to Sr. Mary Luke - expect she has already left, however,   
1undated/no/no (#14)HNS[x]from MertonI was here Tuesday evening - but could not remember if we made some other arrangements last week.   
1undated/no/no (#15)HNSfrom MertonAre you here today? I will drop by this evening. Otherwise hope to see you tomorrow (Wednesday)   
1undated/no/no (#16)HNSfrom MertonWelcome home. This is all for the Bellarmine Collection - I don't know what would be the easiest   
1undated/no/no (#17)HNSfrom MertonIf I don't catch you tonight (Monday) I will try again tomorrow <u>after dinner</u> about 1.15 - OK?   
1undated/no/no (#18)HCSfrom Morrisey, BobHope this finds you in good health and enjoying your work in Kentucky. How the years fly by.   
1undated/no/no (#19)HCSfrom MertonDan - I hope to be there Xmas Eve [-] Joy in the Lord [-] Tom  [verso of card, the text: "HE CARED ENOUGH TO SEND THE VERY BEST"]
1undated/no/no (#20)HCSfrom MertonDon't worry about that article of Dom Aelred Graham (I haven't seen it yet). God bless you always.  [card with a quote from Merton "When My Mother, pretty as a church, Takes Me upon her lap, I laugh with love." - verso: "Original drawing by a Trappist monk." (Mary and Child Jesus drawing) - card could be from 1953 when Aelred Graham published a negative review of some of Merton's writings]
1undated/no/no (#21)other MASTER OF ARTS IN TEACHING with a concentration in RELIGION [-] MANHATTANVILLE COLLEGE  [pamphlet from Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart in Purchase, New York]
1undated/no/no (#22)TALSfrom MertonIn my wildest dreams I never featured being here but Providence has Its way of doing things   
1undated/no/no (#23)HNSfrom MertonThe magazine - eventually for Bellarmine. [-] Tom  [not certain what the reference is, but it is possibly for the next record, <u>Humanidades</u>]
1undated/no/no (#24)other humanidades [-] REVISTA CRISTIANA DE HUMANISMO ACTUAL DE LA UNIVERSIDAD PONTIFICA  [advertisement for <u>Humanidades</u>, published by the Pontifical Comillas University of Madrid, Spain, of which Merton was a collaborator (see last record)]
1undated/no/no (#25)HNSto Birkel, PaulFr. L. left these with me-they are, of course, to go to you as our understanding goes - "given to me  [Paul Birkel was from the library at Bellarmine College]
1undated/no/no (#26)HLSto Birkel, PaulI feel sure that I have not a copy of my talk at Boston College on the occasion of the presentation  [Paul Birkel was from the library at Bellarmine College]
1undated/no/no (#27)HLSfrom Ry[?]Delighted to see your looking so well, and in such grand spirits! You did a truly Christ-like job  [written on Gethsemani Abbey stationery]
1undated/no/no (#28)other[x] <u>Study Thomas Merton under the following aspects</u>: I. Merton the Man [-] Life &amp; character   
1undated/no/no (#29)HCSfrom Martin, Br., O.C.S.O.In the spirit of your anniversary today and of our conversation I wanted to send you a few words  [from Fr. Martin of Gethsemani Abbey to Walsh]
1undated/no/no (#30)other 1. Distinction bet. nature and 'state' all the more important to see what the Chartres people were  [short group of typed, unreferenced notes (by Walsh?) - sections number 1-9 on 5 pieces of half-sized paper]
1undated/no/no (#31)other 6 [-] of the rôle substance plays on Locke, on the one hand, and St. Thomas and Duns Scotus,  [pages 6-24 of handwritten, unreferenced notes (by Walsh?)]
1undated/no/no (#32)HNSfrom MertonI'll be busy Wednesday so I'll try to see you this <u>Tuesday</u> after dinner - ok? In the Lord Tom  [transferred from Sub-Section H.7, Hart Working Files, Accession 2]
1undated/no/no (#33)other[x]from Merton+ for Fr J R [last name starts with "B"] cordial good wishes [-] get well quick! [-] in Xt, fm Louis  [sent "at request of Dan Walsh" but priest's last name is difficult to read - signature and inscription inside Merton's book <i>New Seeds of Contemplation</i>]
1undated/no/no (#34)HNS[x]from Merton+ Christmas blessings 1963 [-] f m Louis  [book first signed and given by Merton to Dan Walsh, and Walsh later gave the book to Russell Hargus for Christmas 1963 - signature inside Merton's book <i>The Christmas Sermons of Bl. Guerric of Igny</i>]
21964/10/21 otherfrom Birkel, PaulWe have received from you the following gifts for the Thomas Merton Collection. October 7, 1963  [numbered list of items donated by Walsh to the Thomas Merton Collection at Bellarmine College from librarian Paul E. Birkel]
21967/07/17 (#01)otherfrom Welsh, PatIn December of 1964 Father John Loftus gave us the following items for the Thomas Merton Collection:  [numbered list of items donated by Walsh to the Thomas Merton Collection at Bellarmine College from librarian Pat Welsh]
21967/07/17 (#02)otherfrom Welsh, PatOn April 9, 1965 we received from you the following gifts for the Thomas Merton Collection:  [numbered list of items donated by Walsh to the Thomas Merton Collection at Bellarmine College from librarian Pat Welsh]
21967/07/18 (#01)otherfrom Welsh, PatOn January 8, 1965 you brought us for the Thomas Merton Collection the following: 1. The black  [numbered list of items donated by Walsh to the Thomas Merton Collection at Bellarmine College from librarian Pat Welsh]
21967/07/18 (#02)otherfrom Welsh, PatOn February 8, 1965 you brought a number of items to us for the Thomas Merton Collection.  [numbered list of items donated by Walsh to the Thomas Merton Collection at Bellarmine College from librarian Pat Welsh]
21967/07/18 (#03)otherfrom Welsh, PatIn March of 1965 you brought us a number of items for the Merton Collection. They are listed  [numbered list of items donated by Walsh to the Thomas Merton Collection at Bellarmine College from librarian Pat Welsh]
21967/07/18 (#04)otherfrom Welsh, PatFrom time to time Father Horrigan sends us down things that he has received for the Thomas Merton  [numbered list of items donated by Walsh to the Thomas Merton Collection at Bellarmine College from librarian Pat Welsh]
21967/07/19 (#01)otherfrom Welsh, PatWe have a number of items that Father John Loftus has sent down to us for the Thomas Merton  [numbered list of items donated by Walsh to the Thomas Merton Collection at Bellarmine College from librarian Pat Welsh]
21967/07/19 (#02)otherfrom Welsh, PatWe want to thank you for the items we received through you for the Merton Collection in November  [numbered list of items donated by Walsh to the Thomas Merton Collection at Bellarmine College from librarian Pat Welsh]
21967/07/19 (#03)otherfrom Welsh, PatIn March of 1966 you delivered to the Thomas Merton Room from Father Louis the following material:  [numbered list of items donated by Walsh to the Thomas Merton Collection at Bellarmine College from librarian Pat Welsh]
21967/07/19 (#04)otherfrom Welsh, PatIn October of 1966 Dr. Ford brought us in some materials for the Thomas Merton Collection.  [numbered list of items donated by Walsh to the Thomas Merton Collection at Bellarmine College from librarian Pat Welsh]
21967/07/20 (#01)otherfrom Welsh, PatOn March 11, 1966 Dr. Jude Daugherty brought to us for the Thomas Merton Collection the following:  [numbered list of items donated by Walsh to the Thomas Merton Collection at Bellarmine College from librarian Pat Welsh]
21967/07/20 (#02)otherfrom Welsh, PatOn July 22, 1966 we received through Father John Loftus the following gifts for the Thomas Merton  [numbered list of items donated by Walsh to the Thomas Merton Collection at Bellarmine College from librarian Pat Welsh]
21967/07/20 (#03)otherfrom Welsh, PatWe received from you on January 18, 1967 the following items for the Thomas Merton Collection:  [numbered list of items donated by Walsh to the Thomas Merton Collection at Bellarmine College from librarian Pat Welsh]
2undated/no/no TLSfrom Schuhmann, MarthaI have finally gotten these acknowledgment letters written and here they are. There will be plenty  [from Martha Schuhmann of Bellarmine College]
31950/04/22 other[x] Character Steps Right Out of Book in Talk by Walsh [-] Big Audience Hears About Trappist Who Wrote  [newspaper clipping from <u>The Springfield Union</u> in Springfield, Massachusetts - reporting on lecture given by Walsh on 1950/04/21 concerning <i>The Seven Storey Mountain</i>]
31965/01/11 other[x] JFK, Pope John Called Saints Of 20th Century [-] Professor Here Knew President [-] By BILL WOOLSEY  [newspaper clipping from <u>The Louisville Times</u> in Louisville, Kentucky - Walsh claims that Pope John XXIII and President John F. Kennedy were saints of the 20th Century]
31967/04/26 (#01)other[x] Merton's prof to be ordained a priest at 60 [-] Special to the National Catholic Reporter  [newspaper clipping from <u>The National Catholic Reporter</u> regarding Walsh's ordination to the priesthood]
31967/04/26 (#02)other[x] NC NEWS SERVICE (Domestic) THOMAS MERTON'S TEACHER TO BE ORDAINED [-] LOUISVILLE (NC)--   
31967/05/05 other[x] MERTON'S MENTOR TO BE ORDAINED [-] Scanton-Born Philosophy Professor a Priest at 60  [newspaper clipping from <u>The Catholic Standard and Times</u> of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia regarding Walsh's ordination to the priesthood]
31967/05/18 other[x] Philosopher Walsh Ordained At St. Thomas [-] A SPECIAL ORDINATION ceremony took place at St.  [newspaper clipping from <u>The Record</u> of the Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky, regarding Walsh's ordination to the priesthood - includes one photograph of Merton drinking from the chalice during the Mass]
31967/05/25 other[x] Dr. Dan Walsh Is Ordained in Louisville [-] ROWENA RAFFERTY [-] It was in Louisville, Kentucky --  [newspaper clipping from <u>The Catholic News</u> regarding Walsh's ordination to the priesthood]
31967/10/no other[x] Father Walsh Reviewing Merton Book Next Tuesday [-] "Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander" will be the  [no source or exact date for clipping - appears to be a newspaper from Bardstown or Louisville, Kentucky - includes a photograph of Merton and Walsh processing out of the church at the end of Mass]
        

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