Ku pamięci: w hołdzie Ralphowi McInerny
In memoriam: a tribute to Ralph McInerny

Summary/Abstract: This article is about Ralph Mclnerny – a professor of philosophy at Notre Dame University for over fifty years, who died on January 29, 2010. As a philosopher and scholar, he dedicated his life to exploring the wisdom of Thomas Aquinas. Eventually, many Catholic intellectuals regarded him as a leader of Thomism in the United States and abroad. He was effective in this role because his depth and breadth of knowledge made him conversant with contemporary intellectual movements. He championed Thomism not because it represented a tradition but because it was effective for addressing contemporary philosophical and cultural challenges. As a defender of Catholic wisdom, his work as teacher, editor, prolific writer, and lecturer will be influential for years. He saw himself as a kind of “culture-warrior.” But Dr. Mclnerny is known more widely to a non-academic audience. He was a successful novelist. His first novel, “Jolly Rogerson,” is riotously funny. His second novel, “The Priest,” was a sensation, selling over a million copies. It tells the story about the struggle a young priest has during the political confusions following Vatican II. Ralph’s legacy was an example of a man who admirably approximated Maritain’s goal to combine intellectual and spiritual development. Like Maritain, he was a realist who would call a spade a spade. Hope, faith, and charity were a source of his ever-present good humor.

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