The only chapter of the International Thomas Merton Society that is located in a prison is at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Shirley, according to the 83-year-old who started it there.

On Dec. 10, 1968, one of the great contemporary mystics died at only 53 years of age. Thomas Merton — Trappist monk, spiritual master, and leader of interfaith understanding — was gone much too soon.

Like his beautifully crafted letters and journals, Merton's prayers and drawings reveal his multifaceted personality, his hunger for God and his passion for providing others with a glimpse of the path ...

Read more of Judy Valente’s interview about Thomas Merton with Brother Paul Quenon at Gethsemani Abbey: Q: Describe for me what you think is the essence of the Trappist life. A: Well, the essence of ...

He praised one as a man of prayer, the other for her "passion for justice." But many Americans might need a reminder about two of the people Pope Francis discussed in Congress on Thursday: philosopher ...

On Nov. 10, 1958, Thomas Merton wrote a letter to Pope John XXIII in which the famous American monk shared with the new pope some reflections about the world and the church. In one passage Merton ...