Bruno P. Schlesinger was a professor at St. Mary's College in Indiana. Born in Austria, Schlesinger was a Jewish convert to Catholicism who came to Indiana in the late 1930's and earned a doctorate from Notre Dame. He began at Saint Mary's in 1945. Schlesinger helped found the Christian Culture Program, based on concepts by historian Christopher Dawson, to study unifying principles in the liberal arts through the lens of Christian humanism and the development of Western culture through Christianity's historical roots. Saint Mary's is a women's college, and Merton writes that "women are perhaps capable of salvaging something of humanity in our world today. Certainly they have a better chance of grasping and understanding and preserving a sense of Christian culture" (Merton, Thomas. Letter to Bruno Schlesinger. December, 13, 1961.) An informational booklet for the program quoted Merton's comments. (Source: The Hidden Ground of Love, p. 541.)
See also Cold War Letters #8 and #34, and other letters from Merton to Schlesinger, published in The Hidden Ground of Love, pp. 541-546.
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.
This Record Sub-Group is not divided into Series and is arranged chronologically.
Click icons for links: ✓="Published | Library Record", ✉="Scanned" | 🗷="Scanned, Viewable Only at Merton Center"
| # | Date | From/To | First Lines | Pub ✓ | Notes |
| | y/m/d | Merton | | Scan ✉ | |
| 1. |
1961/11/10 |
TLS to Merton |
In 1956, we at Saint Mary's College started a Program for Christian Culture as an elective major |
|
«detailed view» |
| 2. |
1961/12/13 (#01) |
TLS[x] from Merton |
I have taken a little time to get around to your letter of November 10th about the Program |
✓ |
[Cold War Letters #8]
«detailed view» |
| 3. |
1961/12/13 (#02) |
transcript from Merton |
I have taken a little time to get around to your letter of November 10th about the Program |
✓ |
[Cold War Letters #8 - transcript from bound set]
«detailed view» |
| 4. |
1962/01/15 |
TL[x] to Merton |
I have received your letter of December 13, 1961 and would like to thank you for your generous |
|
Christian Culture Program / Merton's enclosure of Clement of Alexandria material / Schlesinger enclosing lecture by Father Tavard
«detailed view» |
| 5. |
1962/02/10 (#01) |
TALS[x] from Merton |
It was kind of you to send me the remarkably good essay by Fr Tavard. I have read it with |
✓ |
[Cold War Letters #34]
«detailed view» |
| 6. |
1962/02/10 (#02) |
transcript from Merton |
It was kind of you to send me the remarkably good essay by Fr Tavard. I have read it with |
✓ |
[Cold War Letters #34 - transcript from bound set]
«detailed view» |
| 7. |
1962/02/23 |
TL[x] to Merton |
Thank you for your letter and for your kindness in sending me copies of your articles which I am |
|
Merton's comments on Father Tavard's essay and reaction by Mr. Dawson - the end of Christendom
«detailed view» |
| 8. |
1966/01/16 (#01) |
TL[c] from Merton |
Thanks for the kind letter and for the excerpts from Brecht. I have his plays on hand and have read |
✓ |
«detailed view» |
| 9. |
1966/01/16 (#02) |
TLS[x] from Merton |
Thanks for the kind letter and for the excerpts from Brecht. I have his plays on hand and have read |
✓ |
[photocopy of letter found within files of David Cooper's draft copy for Chapter Nine of Thomas Merton's Art of Denial (see Sub-Section H.15)]
«detailed view» |
| 10. |
1967/08/17 (#01) |
HLS to Merton |
Apologies for my long silence. You were kind enough to have a copy of 'Conjectures' mailed to me; |
|
«detailed view» |
| 11. |
1967/08/17 (#02) |
other |
CONJECTURES OF A GUILTY BYSTANDER. By Thomas Merton. [-] Garden City, Doubleday, 1966. |
|
[book review of Merton's Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander by Schlesinger - Schlesinger says that the review will be published by a student newspaper called "The Shield" in September]
«detailed view» |
| 12. |
1967/08/17 (#03) |
other |
CONJECTURES OF A GUILTY BYSTANDER. By Thomas Merton. [-] Garden City, Doubleday, 1966. |
|
[alternate copy of a book review of Merton's Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander by Schlesinger - Schlesinger says that the review will be published by a student newspaper called "The Shield" in September]
«detailed view» |
| 13. |
1967/08/29 |
HLS to Merton |
I would like to thank you for sending me your article on the past summer and for your new book |
|
«detailed view» |
| 14. |
1967/10/16 (#01) |
TL[c] from Merton |
I meant to thank you before this, for your kind review of Conjectures and for your welcome |
✓ |
«detailed view» |
| 15. |
1967/10/16 (#02) |
TLS[x] from Merton |
I meant to thank you before this, for your kind review of Conjectures and for your welcome |
✓ |
«detailed view» |
| 16. |
1968/09/13 |
HLS[x] to Merton |
I enclose the list of next year's lectures. I wish you could some time come up to talk to us but |
|
change from Christian Culture Program to Humanistic Studies / reaction to Faith and Violence
«detailed view» |
| 17. |
1971/01/31 (#01) |
HLS[x] to Center from Schlesinger, Bruno |
Thank you for your letter of recent date - I enclose Xerox copies of four letters I received from |
|
«detailed view» |
| 18. |
1971/01/31 (#02) |
other to Center from Schlesinger, Bruno |
HUMANISTIC STUDIES [-] LECTURES [-] 1970-71 [-] Humanistic Studies Program [-] Saint Mary's College |
|
«detailed view» |
| 19. |
1984/04/23 (#01) |
HLS to William Shannon |
I enclose the little leaflet on our 'Christian Culture Program' to which Father Merton referred (he |
|
«detailed view» |
| 20. |
1984/04/23 (#02) |
other to William Shannon |
Saint Mary's College [-] Notre Dame, Indiana [-] CHRISTIAN CULTURE [-] An Interdepartmental Program |
|
[contains a quote about the program by Merton]
«detailed view» |
| 21. |
undated/no/no |
other |
BRUNO PAUL SCHLESINGER |
|
biographical information collected by Wm. Shannon
«detailed view» |
| 22. |
undated/no/no |
other |
SCHLESINGER, BRUNO PAUL, b. Neunkirchen, Austria |
|
biographical information
«detailed view» |
|