London: Colloquium on Ronald Knox

Mgr Ronald Knox

A Colloquium on 'Ronnie Knox: A Man For All Seasons' will take place at Heythrop College, University of London on 24 and 25 May.

Monsignor Ronald Knox (1888-1957) was one of the most important Christian writers in 20th century England. After a glittering ministry as an Anglican college chaplain, he converted to Catholicism during the Great War and as a Catholic priest served as chaplain to Catholic students in Oxford and then produced his own remarkable translation of the Bible. As a preacher and writer he was much in demand; he also had great skills as a Latinist and supplemented his meager income by writing detective stories. After his death in 1957 and the publication of Evelyn Waugh’s biography interest in Knox’s life and writings rather declined, to be revived in the 1980s in the United States: comparatively little has been written about him in England.

As the centenary of the Great War approaches, which was such a watershed for Knox, academics at Heythrop felt it was a good time to celebrate and revisit his work with a colloquium which will look at his skills as a translator, classicist, man of letters, spiritual guide, theologian, writer of detective stories, pamphleteer, broadcaster and liturgist. They hope to disseminate the latest biographical research and promote a network of scholars across disciplines to further study of him; we also intend to publish the papers at the colloquium in early 201.

Speakers will include: Clare Asquith, Ashley Beck, Abbot Aidan Bellenger, Sheridan Gilley, Nicholas King SJ, Francesca Bugliani Knox, David Lonsdale, Philippe Maxence, Francesco Montarese, Richard Price, David Rooney, Andrew Wadsworth.

The Colloquium will take place in the Marie Eugenie Room, Heythrop College, University of London, 23 Kensington Square, London W8 5HN.

For bookings and more information see: www.heythrop.ac.uk/about-us/allevents/ronnie-knox.html