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Fr Kilian McDonnell (1921-2025), a pioneer in ecumenism and the Catholic-Pentecostal dialogue has passed away



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Fr Kilian McDonnell, who was just about to celebrate his 104th birthday, has on Sept. 8, 2025, gone home to the Lord. He was a pioneer in contemporary ecumenism and helped to build bridges of unity and reconciliation both among fellow Catholics and between Catholics and other denominations and movements in the Body of Christ. In the field of Charismatic Renewal, we know him as one of the key theologians who, together with Cardinal Suenens , compiled the Malines Papers which presented to the wider Church the legitimacy and ecumenical significance of the Charismatic Renewal, facilitating the introduction of the importance of the baptism of the Holy Spirit to the faithful.


F. Kilian had many friends within the Pentecostal movement and was a co-founder of the international dialogue between Pentecostals and Catholics that was established within what is now the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity within the Vatican.  His colleague on the Pentecostal side was Reverend David du Plessis,  who was an observer for the Pentecostal movement during the Second Vatican Council. David du Plessis was also a committed ecumenist and was not afraid to approach the Catholics despite criticism from his own. F. Kilian and Pastor David together have had an outstanding impact on the development of the dialogue we have today between Catholics and today's Pentecostals and neo-Costal movements.


Private audience with Pope Paul VI with the members of the first phase of the International Dialogue of Catholics and Pentecostalism on May 26, 1976. Among the participants are Pastor David du Plessis (left of the Pope) and F Kilian McDonnell OSB (far right).
Private audience with Pope Paul VI with the members of the first phase of the International Dialogue of Catholics and Pentecostalism on May 26, 1976. Among the participants are Pastor David du Plessis (left of the Pope) and F Kilian McDonnell OSB (far right).

 Dr. David Cole, Deputy Secretary of the International Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue, writes on CHARIS International's Facebook page:

“Fr. Kilian patiently and lovingly facilitated thoughtful and respectful conversations and relationships with Pentecostals. As a theologian who understood the Charismatic Renewal, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and the Pentecostal movement, Fr. Kilian actually knew Pentecostals better than they understood themselves! But through his kindness, his humility, and his winsome, whimsical personality, Fr. Kilian modeled how to not just talk about unity, but more importantly, how to live it out.

A new generation of Pentecostals and Catholics are pursuing common ground and spiritual ecumenism together today because of a great pioneer in the faith, the theologian, historian, ecumenist, and mentor, Fr. Kilian McDonnell.

On a personal level, I was most privileged to engage with Fr. Kilian in several sessions of Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue in the 1990s, and I truly consider him a key ecumenical mentor in my life.”

F. Kilian McDonnell co-authored with George Montague the book Christian Initiation and Baptism in the Holy Spirit – Evidence from the First Eight Centuries (The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, 1991). It describes how the spiritual graces were practiced in the early church and in the early centuries. A summary of that book can be found in the booklet in Swedish translation Blås liv i Nådegåvan (Fanning the Flame) and can be ordered via CHARIS Nordic's e-shop.

     

 

Bengt Malmgren

 
 
 

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