After the death of Henri de Lubac, S.J., on Sept. 4, 1991, Avery Dulles, S.J. penned a long tribute to the theologian, a major influence on Vatican II and later theological developments.

Dolores R. Leckey, who was founding director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for the Laity in 1977 and at the time one of the highest ranking women in the U.S. Catholic Church, died peacefully of natural causes Jan. 17 in her home in Arlington.

After Dorothy Day's death in 1980, her biographer William Miller wrote her obituary for America, noting that "the amazing thing about her life was the improbability of it all."

In his million-selling “How the Irish Saved Civilization,” Cahill cited Ireland's crucial—and unappreciated—preservation of classical texts after the fall of the Roman Empire.

As an outstanding student of the Gospels, the Rev. John Meier set himself to present the historical Jesus to the world, producing in five volumes one of the longest works ever published on the life and person of Jesus.

Two scholars who died this week—Albert Nolan, O.P., and Msgr. John P. Meier—made enormous contributions to our understanding of the historical Jesus and his message.