In Memoriam: Richard Gaillardetz

Renowned ecclesiologist Richard R. Gaillardetz, 电子游戏软件天主教系统神学约瑟夫教授，获奖神学家和作家, died on November 7, 2023. His death comes 20 months after being diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He was 65.

A funeral Mass for Dr. Gaillardetz will be celebrated on November 16 at St. Ignatius Church beginning at 9:30 a.m. A wake will be held at Gormley Funeral Home, 2055 Centre St., West Roxbury on November 15 from 4 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., followed by a vigil service from 7:15 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Dr. 盖拉德兹在解释和接受梵蒂冈第二次会议和天主教会的权威问题上是一个受人尊敬的杰出声音. He was the author/co-author of nine books, editor of six others, and author of more than a 100 articles and book reviews. He was also a popular public speaker, addressing theological and pastoral conferences throughout the world.

His book Teaching with Authority: A Theology of the Magisterium of the Church，是该领域的标准文本，并且已经印刷了四分之一个世纪. An expert on ecumenical councils, Gaillardetz’s Keys to the Council: Unlocking the Teaching of Vatican II (co-authored with Catherine Clifford) 呈现了一个不那么吓人和更容易理解的介绍梵蒂冈二世的愿景. His other notable works include By What Authority? Foundations for Understanding Authority in the Church and An Unfinished Council: Vatican II, Pope Francis, and the Renewal of Catholics. 他的出版物获得了天主教新闻协会和天主教出版商协会的众多奖项.

“Within the department, with our colleagues, staff, undergraduate, and graduate students, as well as within our University, the academy, and the Church, Richard Gaillardetz教授分享了他对教会现在和未来的热爱和热情, and for the not-yet fully realized contributions of the Second Vatican Council,” said Theology Department Chair Andrea Vicini, S.J., the Walsh Professor of Bioethics. “带着衷心的感谢，我们将深深地怀念他，并努力继续他的神学工作.”

“我想没有人会否认瑞克是英语世界里最有成就的教会学家,” said Professor of Theology Stephen Pope. “He was immensely respected for his work ethic and intelligence."

神学教授博伊德·泰勒·库尔曼说:“里克才华横溢，多产. "He wrote about and for the Church, which he loved deeply and served faithfully. His great scholarly gift was to be an effective, compelling communicator of sophisticated theological ideas to a wide audience, that both satisfied specialists and stimulated non-specialists."

“Rick was a spectacularly good teacher," Pope added. "His high standards could intimidate students, but he would go out of his way to help students meet those standards, 他们是在努力更好地理解材料还是写得更好. He could teach anyone—from a first-year undergraduate to a Ph.D. student.”

Dr. 盖拉德兹因其在2016年至2022年担任神学系系主任期间具有影响力的领导而被人们铭记.

"As Chair, Rick was a model of dedication, strength, and humility," said Professor of Theology Catherine Cornille, who holds the Newton College Alumnae Chair. "Though a larger-than-life personality, 他也非常敏感，关心系里每一个成员的幸福和发展."

"Rick had a vision for the mission of the department, as well as a concern for the well-being of all the individual faculty members, especially those who felt marginalized, or underappreciated, or burnt out," said Coolman. "He took the initiative on both fronts, not through imposition or coercion, but by invitation and persuasion."

“作为系主任，他不知疲倦地为系里的共同利益而工作, as much as he could, for the good of everyone in it," added Associate Professor of Theology Jeremy Wilkins, director of the Lonergan Center. 

Dr. Gaillardetz was also known for his fondness for cooking, golfing, and playing racquetball—each approached with his characteristic intensity. 他是德州大学长角牛队和德州游骑兵队的狂热粉丝, who won their first World Series days before his passing.

“Whatever Rick did, he put his heart and soul into it. Rick could be very formidable and intensely focused,” Pope noted, “but he had the ability to laugh at himself. There was a real humility in him.”

Pope noted Dr. Gaillardetz的竞争力与他在培养深厚友谊方面的同情心和意向性不相上下. 

"Rick's chief virtue was friendship," said Wilkins, who credited Dr. Gaillardetz with initiating a friend group with others on campus. "Rick was a true friend. He wanted to do right by everyone."

"Rick showed his friends what friendship can really be, and why the art of friendship is in fact a spiritual art. Ever eager for joyous companionship, he also knew how to depend upon his friends in times of need," said Associate Professor of Theology Brian Robinette.

Coolman called him a "helluva friend" who is "already achingly missed."

In their remembrances, many friends noted his singular devotion to his wife, Diana, and their four sons. "Rick was one of the best family men I’ve ever known," said Pope, 他补充说，他和戴安娜会向电子游戏正规平台生和同事们开放他们的家，他们在假期需要一个地方去.

“Rick was a person of deep Christian and Catholic faith," Pope added. "That's what drove everything he did professionally and personally. His faith made him hopeful.”

Dr. Gaillardetz和他的同事Thomas Groome和Richard Lennan共同主持了一个关于“当代教会的圣职和事工”的教师研讨会,” which undertook a scholarly, practical, and ecclesiastical examination of the priesthood and ministry. After two years of meetings, the group issued a document, “To Serve the People of God,” that outlined the essence of the priestly ministry. 这份文件是2020年在电子游戏软件举行的红衣主教会议的基础, bishops, seminary rectors, ordained and lay ministers, and scholars. At the conclusion, 会议发表了一份正式公报，概述了10项牧灵建议，以扩大现有的教会事工，并探索按立事工的新模式. The seminar’s project culminated in the publication of Priestly Ministry and the People of God, 这是一本来自各种声音的随笔书，他们对神职人员的未来提出了最好的希望. Dr. Gaillardetz served as a co-editor and contributor, along with Groome and Fr. Lennan.

In the book, Dr. Gaillardetz highlighted the flaws in the existing system for forming priests. “我们目前的职业体系更多是为了辨别圣职任命的障碍，而不是为了实现真正的牧灵领导或任何形式的牧灵事工而存在的神恩或才能.”

“作为一名神学家，里克是一个充满活力和非凡创造力的人。. Lennan. “瑞克在教会神学和事工方面的工作极大地丰富了美国及其他地区教会社区的生活. As a teacher, Rick was a skilled communicator, 能够以一种清晰而引人注目的方式表达复杂的想法，邀请他的听众进行对话. Rick exemplified, in many ways, “爱教会”的特质:他既不浪漫，也不道歉，而是始终坚定地致力于实现以信仰为特征的教会, openness to conversion, 和生活方式，体现了作为耶稣基督门徒的一切意义.”

在2022年9月，大学主办了一个会议，以庆祝博士的遗产. Gaillardetz as a scholar, teacher, and mentor. Hundreds of theologians and former students gathered on campus for the event, titled “New Directions in Ecclesiology: The Contributions of Richard Gaillardetz.” The conference included an address by Dr. 这是他的最后一次演讲，题目是“爱与改革一个神圣但破碎的教会”.”

In his talk, Dr. 盖拉德兹鼓励他的同事们继续“有意义和持久的教会改革”的工作，并在过度批评天主教会作为一个机构和过度信任其领导人之间寻求一条中间道路, especially after the clergy sexual abuse scandals, according to coverage of the conference in National Catholic Reporter.

“我们今天的教会正在为我们未能保持反思的平衡付出代价. We are becoming divided into two camps, those who embrace the tradition, whole cloth, as a reality that stands beyond critique, 还有一些人，他们的全面谴责只给我们留下了一个基本上已经失败的传统的一些可挽救的碎片,” he said.

In perhaps his most profound and final act as teacher and friend, he invited others to follow his illness journey via a blog he kept. His posts touched upon both the personal and the medical, all shared through a decidedly Catholic, Christian, and faith-filled lens. 

"In addition to his important work in the area of ecclesiology, 他也将被铭记，因为他在分享他最后旅程的经历时所传授的精神智慧," said Cornille.

"A teacher to the end, his best lesson for all of us was the way he practiced the art of dying well," added Wilkins.

Dr. 盖拉德兹出生并成长在一个军人家庭，年轻时大部分时间都在旅行, 他认为这段经历培养了他对人的多样性的终身欣赏.

He received a B.A. in humanities from the University of Texas-Austin, an M.A. in biblical theology from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, and both an M.A. and Ph.D. in systematic theology from the University of Notre Dame.

He joined the Boston College Theology Department in 2011. Immediately prior to joining BC, Dr. Gaillardetz was the Margaret and Thomas Murray and James J. Bacik Professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Toledo. He also taught at the University of St. Thomas Graduate School of Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston.

Dr. 盖拉德兹是美国天主教神学协会的成员和前任主席, the largest professional association of Catholic theologians in the world. 他也是美国宗教学会(American Academy of Religion)和大学神学学会(College Theology Society)的成员. 他曾获得巴里大学的Yves Congar神学卓越奖和华盛顿神学联盟的索菲亚奖，以表彰他在神学服务方面的卓越表现.

Earlier this year, he received an honorary doctorate from Oblate School of Theology, a Catholic graduate school for theological studies in San Antonio, Texas.

He is survived by his wife, Diana, who graduated from the BC School of Social Work in 2022, their sons David, M.S.W. ’16, M.A. ’19; Andrew; Brian ’17; and Gregory ’19, and grandson, Elliot.