Daniel Berrigan
Daniel Berrigan was a prominent Jesuit priest, poet, and social activist, born on May 9, 1921, in Virginia, Minnesota. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1939 and was ordained in 1952 after completing his theological education. Throughout his life, Berrigan was known for his commitment to social justice, actively protesting against racial discrimination, urban poverty, and the Vietnam War. He was a key figure in the Catonsville Nine, a group of activists who famously burned draft records in opposition to the war, leading to his imprisonment.
Berrigan's literary work included poetry and prose that often addressed sociopolitical themes and reflected his spiritual journey. His notable poetry collections, such as "Time Without Number," earned him significant literary accolades. In addition to his literary and activist endeavors, Berrigan taught at various universities and was involved in numerous causes, including nuclear disarmament and women's rights. He passed away on April 30, 2016, at the age of ninety-four, leaving behind a legacy of activism and artistic expression intertwined with his faith.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Daniel Berrigan
Social and Political Activist
- Born: May 9, 1921
- Birthplace: Virginia, Minnesota
Biography
A Jesuit priest, social activist, and author of poetry and nonfiction, Daniel Berrigan, SJ, was born in Virginia, Minnesota, on May 9, 1921, one of six sons born to Thomas William Berrigan, a railroad engineer and labor official, and Frieda Berrigan, nee Fromhart. Berrigan spent his youth in Syracuse, New York, and entered the Society of Jesus in 1939. He received a B.A. from St. Andrew on Hudson, a Jesuit seminary in Hyde Park, New York, in 1946, and an M.A. from Woodstock College (now the Woodstock Theological Center) in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1952, the same year he was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest. Berrigan did ministerial work in Europe from 1953 to 1954. Upon his return, he taught at the Brooklyn Preparatory School, LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, and Cornell University. Actively engaged in public protests against racial discrimination, urban poverty, and the Vietnam War, and a founder of the national peace organization Clergy and Laity Concerned about Vietnam, Berrigan traveled, in 1968, with Howard Zinn to North Vietnam to help arrange the release of three captured American airmen. The antiwar activity that landed Berrigan in prison, however, was his involvement with the Catonsville Nine. This group of Roman Catholic activists was charged with burning hundreds of draft records with homemade napalm in Catonsville, Maryland, on May 17, 1968. Berrigan was sentenced to three years in prison, and went underground to avoid his prison term. He was eventually captured in Rhode Island in 1970, and served eighteen months in the federal jail in Danbury, Connecticut. After his release, Berrigan held teaching positions at such institutions as Woodstock College, University of Manitoba, University of Detroit, University of California-Riverside, Yale University, Columbia University, Loyola University, and the College of New Rochelle. His service and activist involvement has grown to include protesting against use of nuclear weapons, promoting women’s rights, abolishing capital punishment, and volunteering in a New York cancer ward and in an AIDS facility. Likewise, Berrigan’s writing reflects his commitment to sociopolitical and spiritual activism. Berrigan’s first collection of poetry, Time Without Number (1957), which received the prestigious American Academy of Poets’ Lamont Poetry Selection Award and a National Book Award nomination, uses traditional forms to present its author’s search for truth in his art and life. Subsequent collections, including No One Walks Waters (1966) and False Gods, Real Men (1969), are similar in form and technique, but openly address social issues and political atrocities. By the time of Berrigan’s imprisonment, he was exploring new forms: The Trial of the Catonsville Nine (1970) is a free verse play incorporating excerpts from his trial record, and collections such as The Dark Night of Resistance (1971), A Book of Parables (1977), and Uncommon Prayer (1978) include prose poems that intertwine the Gospel with contemporary issues. Such awards as the Thomas More Association Medal (1971), the Vasyl Stus Award, the Pen New England award (2000), as well as the publication of And the Risen Bread: Selected Poems, 1957-1997 (1998), indicate Berrigan’s literary accomplishment.
On April 30, 2016, Berrigan died at a Jesuit infirmary in New York City, where he had lived since the 1970s. He was ninety-four years old.
Bibliography
Carroll, James. "Daniel Berrigan, My Dangerous Friend." New Yorker. Conde Nast, 2 May 2016. Web. 22 June 2016.
Cosacchi, Dnaiel, and Eric Martin, eds. The Berrigan Letters: Personal Correspondence Between Daniel and Philip Berrigan. Maryknoll: Orbis, 2016. Print.
Hansen, Luke. "Poet and Prophet: The Peacemaking Legacy of Daniel Berrigan, S.J." America: The National Catholic Review. America, 30 Apr. 2016. Web. 22 June 2016.
Lewis, Daniel. "Daniel J. Berrigan, Defiant Priest Who Preached Pacifism, Dies at 94." New York Times. New York Times, 30 Apr. 2016. Web. 22 June 2016.
Polner, Murray, and Jim O'Grady. Disarmed and Dangerous: The Radical Life and Times of Daniel and Philip Berrigan, Brothers in Religious Faith and Civil Disobedience. Boulder: Westview, 1998. Print.