Sister Mary Luke Tobin
Encyclopedia
Sister Mary Luke Tobin, S.L.
, (May 16, 1908 - August 24, 2006) was an American Roman Catholic Religious Sister, and one of only 15 women auditors invited to the Second Vatican Council
, and the only American
woman of the three women religious permitted to participate on the Council's planning commissions.
of the Sisters of Loretto
. She had been president of the congregation from 1958 to 1970. When she was invited to Rome, she was President of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious
. She did much of her work in her native Denver but traveled the world on missions for peace, including visits to Saigon, Paris
, El Salvador
and Northern Ireland
.
, she became friends with Trappist
monk
Thomas Merton
. Merton shared with her some of the works he was not allowed to publish. After Merton's death in 1968 she co-founded the International Thomas Merton Society
and also established the Thomas Merton Center for Creative Exchange in Denver in 1979 where Merton's spirituality and writings came to be known by many. She gave Merton retreats and co-founded a Buddhist-Christian dialogue/meditation group in Denver. Tobin invited such theological luminaries as Fr. Edward Schillebeeckx
, O.P.
, and Fr. Bernard Häring, C.Ss.R., to lecture at Loretto.
She was an actress in the TV special: Merton: A Film Biography of Thomas Merton.
and took on the Blue Diamond Coal Company by using Loretto's shares to challenge the firm's practices and took part in nonviolent actions at Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant, the U.S. Air Force Academy and Martin-Marietta in Colorado.
recalled a card Tobin sent her a few years ago when Fiedler was involved in an "uncertain venture". It read: "Go out on a limb. That's where the fruit is."
Sisters of Loretto
Sisters of Loretto or the Loretto Community is a Catholic religious institution, which, according to their mission statement, "strive[s] to bring the healing Spirit of God into our world" and is committed "to improving the conditions of those who suffer from injustice, oppression, and deprivation...
, (May 16, 1908 - August 24, 2006) was an American Roman Catholic Religious Sister, and one of only 15 women auditors invited to the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
, and the only American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
woman of the three women religious permitted to participate on the Council's planning commissions.
Early life
Christened as Ruth Marie Tobin, she attended public schools in Denver and traveled to Nevada and California with her parents and older brother. She managed a dance school while attending Loretto Heights College in Denver.Religious Background
Sister Tobin was a former Superior GeneralSuperior general
A Superior General, or General Superior, is the Superior at the head of a whole religious order or congregation.The term is mainly used as a generic term, while many orders and congregations use other specific titles, notably:* Abbot general...
of the Sisters of Loretto
Sisters of Loretto
Sisters of Loretto or the Loretto Community is a Catholic religious institution, which, according to their mission statement, "strive[s] to bring the healing Spirit of God into our world" and is committed "to improving the conditions of those who suffer from injustice, oppression, and deprivation...
. She had been president of the congregation from 1958 to 1970. When she was invited to Rome, she was President of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
The Leadership Conference of Women Religious is a canonically approved membership organization which exists as a support system and corporate voice for leaders of institutes, or congregations, of women religious in the United States.The conference has more than 1500 members, whose congregations...
. She did much of her work in her native Denver but traveled the world on missions for peace, including visits to Saigon, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
Thomas Merton
While living at the Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx, KentuckyMarion County, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 18,212 people, 6,613 households, and 4,754 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 7,277 housing units at an average density of...
, she became friends with Trappist
TRAPPIST
TRAPPIST is Belgian robotic telescope in Chile which came online in 2010, and is an acronym for TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope, so named in homage to Trappist beer produced in the Belgian region. Situated high in the Chilean mountains at La Silla Observatory, it is actually...
monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton, O.C.S.O. was a 20th century Anglo-American Catholic writer and mystic. A Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, he was a poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion...
. Merton shared with her some of the works he was not allowed to publish. After Merton's death in 1968 she co-founded the International Thomas Merton Society
International Thomas Merton Society
The International Thomas Merton Society, founded in 1987, is a learned society which studies the works of Thomas Merton. It sponsors conferences and co-publishes a journal, The Merton Seasonal...
and also established the Thomas Merton Center for Creative Exchange in Denver in 1979 where Merton's spirituality and writings came to be known by many. She gave Merton retreats and co-founded a Buddhist-Christian dialogue/meditation group in Denver. Tobin invited such theological luminaries as Fr. Edward Schillebeeckx
Edward Schillebeeckx
Edward Cornelis Florentius Alfonsus Schillebeeckx was a Belgian Roman Catholic theologian born in Antwerp. He taught at the Catholic University in Nijmegen. He then continued writing. In his nineties, he still wanted to finish a major book about the Sacraments.He was a member of the Dominican Order...
, O.P.
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, and Fr. Bernard Häring, C.Ss.R., to lecture at Loretto.
She was an actress in the TV special: Merton: A Film Biography of Thomas Merton.
Political Activism
The diminutive Sister supported women's ordination to the priesthood, opposed nuclear proliferation, supported the United Farm WorkersUnited Farm Workers
The United Farm Workers of America is a labor union created from the merging of two groups, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee led by Filipino organizer Larry Itliong, and the National Farm Workers Association led by César Chávez...
and took on the Blue Diamond Coal Company by using Loretto's shares to challenge the firm's practices and took part in nonviolent actions at Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant, the U.S. Air Force Academy and Martin-Marietta in Colorado.
Quote
"You know I was just lying in bed thinking: If all the men on the planet suddenly got a virus that attacked only men, could women run the world? Would we be able to manage the subway system, for instance?"Anecdote
Sister Maureen FiedlerMaureen Fiedler
Sister Maureen Fiedler, S.L., Ph.D. is an American activist and radio host and a member of the Sisters of Loretto. She is a progressive, sometimes controversial activist within the Roman Catholic Church...
recalled a card Tobin sent her a few years ago when Fiedler was involved in an "uncertain venture". It read: "Go out on a limb. That's where the fruit is."