Greetings--
This morning at the Comparative Theology Reading group, the current president of the CTSA, Francis X. Clooney, SJ, was surprised with the announcement that a Festschrift in his honor will be published this November.
Co-editors Axel Takacs and Joseph Kimmel have worked with 44 contributors over the past two years on an edited volume in Frank's honor. It will be published with Wiley-Blackwell and available at the AAR this year.
You can learn more about the volume and peruse the table of contents in this promotional flyer. Here is an image of Frank with co-editors. Finally, here is a PDF of some pictures of Frank throughout the years.
The volume contains an introduction, preface, and 44 contributions; it comes in at around 750 pages.
The following is a summary of our celebratory words this morning:
Back in July of 2021, we began conversations about preparing a festschrift to honor the Rev. Dr. Francis Xavier Clooney, Societas Iesu–-better known among his colleagues and friends as Frank. Axel had always had in mind to honor his doctoral advisor, academic mentor, and, arguably, matchmaker for him and his spouse, but he had not yet put aside time to do so. Then, he received an unexpected email from Joe.
In Joe's personal growth as an Episcopal priest and scholar, Frank has played a crucial role: from serving as his MDiv advisor at Harvard Divinity School to helping guide his doctoral exams and recent dissertation, and even more importantly by serving as a mentor and model in his bi-vocational discernment towards both the priesthood and the academy.
Two summers ago, as Joe was reflecting on Frank’s critical role in my formation and his seminal impact upon dozens of other scholars, he thought that if anyone is deserving of a Festschrift, that person is surely Frank. So he began searching around to see if any such Festschrifts were in the works. Finding none, he sent an email to Axel to ask if he might be interested in co-editing a Festschrift for Frank.
We need not review in detail the impact of Frank’s academic career on the disciplines of theology, the study of religion, and South Asian studies. He has mentored dozens of doctoral candidates between his time at Boston College and Harvard Divinity School, and even more masters students. His vision of comparative theology has formed countless scholars and insinuated its way into the American Academy of Religion, Catholic Theological Society of America, the College Theology Society, and various departments of theology and religious studies across North America, Europe, and beyond. While his scholarship alone is worthy of a festschrift, his role as mentor equals, if not surpasses the significance of his scholarship. As one contributor to the volume reminded us in an email, “[Frank] goes out of his way to include younger scholars, to ask them their opinion, to listen to them, to amplify their voices and ideas, and to make sure they are heard by others. He is generous and hospitable and humble in that regard.”
Beyond scholar and mentor, he is likewise an educator–-staying true to a method of teaching in line with his method of research: slow reading, contemplative engagement with texts, and discussion that brings the text in conversation with personal experiences in an informed, intellectually critical and creative way. And, let us not forget that he is a priest to a Catholic community in Sharon, Massachusetts, a commentator on contemporary events regarding the Catholic Church and interreligious dialogue and theology, and more. I believe he has also celebrated the marriage of not a few of his students, including Axel's.
Finally, this is an opportune moment to celebrate the fact that this year marks exactly 50 years since his Jesuit regency in Kathmandu, where, in 1973, he taught English at St. Xavier’s High School.
To tell a very long story briefly, after some initial conversations with different publishers, Axel and Joe had the good fortune of connecting with an outstanding publishing team at Wiley-Blackwell. We also were very pleased, though not surprised, to find that dozens of people wanted to participate in Frank’s Festschrift. We sent out several rounds of invitations and still there were more scholars asking to contribute, in order to honor Frank’s impact upon their lives and careers. These scholars range from long-time tenured professors to advanced doctoral students. Presently, in terms of raw data, Frank’s Festschrift runs to about 750 pages, featuring 44 chapters divided into seven major sections, from “Theories & Methods in Comparative Theology” to “Comparative Theology and the Society of Jesus” to “The Past, Present, and Future of Comparative Theology.” Currently, this Festschrift is in the final stages of publication and will be available this coming fall.
The Festschrift volume will be complete before the AAR this year in San Antonio. We will have copies with us, as will Wiley-Blackwell, at the AAR. We plan on organizing an additional celebration and official, how should we say, conferral of the Festschrift to Frank at that time. We are still in the planning stages, but please stay tuned for more information.
Please, join us in celebrating Frank's contribution to the the academy--theological studies, the study of religion, South Asian Studies, and more.
Axel Takacs
Joseph Kimmel
