The papers of ecumenical scholar Rev. George H. Tavard, A.A., are now available for research in Marquette University Libraries’ Department of Special Collections and Archives. The author of more than 50 books and 250 published articles, Father Tavard is widely recognized as one of the foremost ecumenical scholars of his generation.

Born in 1922 and ordained in his native France in 1947, Father Tavard has been an American resident since the 1950s. He taught theology at several seminaries and universities, including Mount Mercy College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania State University, Princeton Theological Seminary, the Methodist Theological School in Delaware, Ohio, Regis College in the University of Toronto, and Catholic University. From 1992 to 1995 he held the Presidential Chair in Theology at Marquette.

Prior to the Second Vatican Council, Father Tavard was appointed a consultant to the Pontifical Secretariat for Christian Unity. In 1962 he received a papal appointment as a theological peritus, or expert advisor, to the Council. Following the Second Vatican Council, Tavard served on several bilateral theological conversations involving Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Methodist leaders.

The Tavard Papers complement the Marquette Archives’ other holdings documenting Catholic social action. In addition to ecumism, Father Tavard was one of the first Catholic theologians to raise the issue of women’s roles in the modern Church. The papers include manuscripts for published and unpublished works; professional and personal correspondence; printed and audio recordings of lectures and speeches; and records from his assignment at the Second Vatican Council. Some records are in French and Latin. A descriptive inventory for the Tavard Papers is accessible online at the web address below.

For more information please contact Matt Blessing by phone or by e-mail.