Robert Schreiter

Born: December 14, 1947

Died: June 1, 2021

Robert J. Schreiter (or “Bob,” as he convinced me to call him after many years and some exasperation on his part) was first part of a farming family in Nebraska; then a priest of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood; later a protégé of the late, great Edward Schillebeeckx; and ultimately a lifelong member of the faculty at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago until he passed away last June. Although he was globally renowned for his ministry in inculturation, intercultural dialogue, social reconciliation, and peacemaking in the aftermath of violence and genocide, to me, his was also a spirituality of mentorship. He mentored countless students throughout his life, and I was privileged enough to be one of them. This is one of the many ways that Schreiter lived in the “way” of Jesus, the way of the God who is “new each moment” (the phrase comes from his own mentor, Schillebeeckx).

Unlike Jesus, however, Schreiter did not seek disciples. But somehow we as students found him. And he accepted us and was generous with his time, talents, and person. He might email me from an airport after reading an essay on a plane. Or he may agree to meet for lunch during a 48-hour “layover” at home between giving a lecture on inculturation in Germany and flying to Rwanda to administer a workshop on social reconciliation in the aftermath of genocide. Mind you, all the while he was also teaching classes for hundreds of students, writing books and articles, serving on dissertation committees and directing theses, serving in a leadership capacity for his religious community, speaking and responding at international conferences, and mentoring many other students.

—Kevin P. Considine