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Richard Rohr
Richard Rohr, OFM (born 1943) is an American Franciscan priest and writer on spirituality based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was ordained to the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church in 1970, founded the New Jerusalem Community in Cincinnati in 1971, and the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque in 1987. In 2011, PBS called him "one of the most popular spirituality authors and speakers in the world".
Rohr's notable works include The Universal Christ, Falling Upward, and Everything Belongs. His spirituality is rooted in Christian mysticism and the perennial tradition.
Rohr was born in Kansas in 1943. He entered the Franciscans in 1961 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1970. He received his Master of Theology degree in 1970 from the University of Dayton. Rohr founded the New Jerusalem Community in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1971 and the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1986, where he serves as founding director and academic dean of the Living School for Action and Contemplation. The curriculum of Rohr's school is founded on seven themes developed by Rohr and explored in his book Yes, And.... Core faculty members include James Finley, Brian McLaren, Barbara Holmes and Cynthia Bourgeault.
On July 1, 2022, Pope Francis met with Rohr, who said that Francis expressed support for his work. Later that year, Rohr announced he would step back from public ministry following a lymphoma diagnosis. He was previously diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2017, and suffered a severe heart attack in 2018.
Rohr emphasizes "alternative orthodoxy", a term the Franciscan tradition has applied to itself, [citation needed] referring to a focus on "orthopraxy"—a belief that lifestyle and practice are much more important than mere verbal orthodoxy, which he feels is much overlooked in Catholic preaching today. According to Rohr's teachings, following Jesus is the "best shortcut" to salvation, but one does not necessarily have to practice formal Christianity. The key is to "fall in love with the divine presence, under whatever name." Rohr says people are disillusioned with conservative churches that teach that nonbelievers and followers of non-Christian religions go to Hell. Rohr additionally states: "I'm not trying to be some New Age liberal who flattens the universe out. Quite the contrary. I'm trying to invite people into the depth of things... and that's why I still encourage people to be loyal to their primary tradition; to go deep in one place, as I've often put it."
The perennial philosophy forms the basis of much of Rohr's teaching; his work's essential message focuses on the union of divine reality with all things and the human potential and longing for this union. Rohr and other 21st-century spiritual leaders explore the perennial tradition in the Center for Action and Contemplation's issue of the publication Oneing. In a similar vein, he sometimes draws on spiral dynamics and Ken Wilber's integral theory. Psychological concepts from Carl Jung and the Enneagram of Personality are also recurring themes in his work.
In his book Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self, Rohr describes Jesus's death and resurrection as a historical event that perfectly illustrates the pattern of movement from "false self" to "true self" in human spiritual development; from "who you think you are" to "who you are in God." In The Universal Christ (2019), he expands on this theme by writing:
Jesus' first incarnate life, his passing over into death, and his resurrection into the ongoing Christ life is the archetypal model for the entire pattern of creation. He is the microcosm for the whole cosmos, or the map of the whole journey.
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Richard Rohr
Richard Rohr, OFM (born 1943) is an American Franciscan priest and writer on spirituality based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was ordained to the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church in 1970, founded the New Jerusalem Community in Cincinnati in 1971, and the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque in 1987. In 2011, PBS called him "one of the most popular spirituality authors and speakers in the world".
Rohr's notable works include The Universal Christ, Falling Upward, and Everything Belongs. His spirituality is rooted in Christian mysticism and the perennial tradition.
Rohr was born in Kansas in 1943. He entered the Franciscans in 1961 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1970. He received his Master of Theology degree in 1970 from the University of Dayton. Rohr founded the New Jerusalem Community in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1971 and the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1986, where he serves as founding director and academic dean of the Living School for Action and Contemplation. The curriculum of Rohr's school is founded on seven themes developed by Rohr and explored in his book Yes, And.... Core faculty members include James Finley, Brian McLaren, Barbara Holmes and Cynthia Bourgeault.
On July 1, 2022, Pope Francis met with Rohr, who said that Francis expressed support for his work. Later that year, Rohr announced he would step back from public ministry following a lymphoma diagnosis. He was previously diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2017, and suffered a severe heart attack in 2018.
Rohr emphasizes "alternative orthodoxy", a term the Franciscan tradition has applied to itself, [citation needed] referring to a focus on "orthopraxy"—a belief that lifestyle and practice are much more important than mere verbal orthodoxy, which he feels is much overlooked in Catholic preaching today. According to Rohr's teachings, following Jesus is the "best shortcut" to salvation, but one does not necessarily have to practice formal Christianity. The key is to "fall in love with the divine presence, under whatever name." Rohr says people are disillusioned with conservative churches that teach that nonbelievers and followers of non-Christian religions go to Hell. Rohr additionally states: "I'm not trying to be some New Age liberal who flattens the universe out. Quite the contrary. I'm trying to invite people into the depth of things... and that's why I still encourage people to be loyal to their primary tradition; to go deep in one place, as I've often put it."
The perennial philosophy forms the basis of much of Rohr's teaching; his work's essential message focuses on the union of divine reality with all things and the human potential and longing for this union. Rohr and other 21st-century spiritual leaders explore the perennial tradition in the Center for Action and Contemplation's issue of the publication Oneing. In a similar vein, he sometimes draws on spiral dynamics and Ken Wilber's integral theory. Psychological concepts from Carl Jung and the Enneagram of Personality are also recurring themes in his work.
In his book Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self, Rohr describes Jesus's death and resurrection as a historical event that perfectly illustrates the pattern of movement from "false self" to "true self" in human spiritual development; from "who you think you are" to "who you are in God." In The Universal Christ (2019), he expands on this theme by writing:
Jesus' first incarnate life, his passing over into death, and his resurrection into the ongoing Christ life is the archetypal model for the entire pattern of creation. He is the microcosm for the whole cosmos, or the map of the whole journey.