Daniel Berrigan

The Reverend
Daniel Berrigan
SJ
Father Daniel Berrigan speaking at a Witness Against Torture event held on December 18, 2008, in the Lower East Side (New York City).
Berrigan in 2008
Born
Daniel Joseph Berrigan

(1921-05-09)May 9, 1921
Virginia, Minnesota, US
DiedApril 30, 2016(2016-04-30) (aged 94)
New York City, New York, US
Occupations
  • Jesuit priest
  • peace activist
  • university educator
  • playwright
  • poet
  • author
Known for
RelativesPhilip Berrigan (brother)
Websitedanielberrigan.org

Daniel Joseph Berrigan SJ (May 9, 1921 – April 30, 2016) was an American Jesuit priest, anti-war activist, Christian pacifist, playwright, poet, and author.

Berrigan's protests against the Vietnam War earned him both scorn and admiration, especially regarding his association with the Catonsville Nine.[1][2] He was arrested multiple times, sentenced to prison for three years for destruction of government property, and was listed on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's "most wanted list" after flight to avoid imprisonment (the first-ever priest on the list)[3] and was sentenced to prison for destruction of government property.[4]

For the rest of his life, Berrigan remained one of the United States' leading anti-war activists.[5] In 1980, he co-founded the Plowshares movement, an anti-nuclear protest group, that put him back into the national spotlight.[6] Berrigan was an award-winning and prolific author of some 50 books, a teacher, and a university educator.[4]

  1. ^ "Fire and Faith: The Catonsville Nine File". Digital archive. Enoch Pratt Free Library. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  2. ^ Chris Hedges (May 20, 2008). "Daniel Berrigan: Forty Years After Catonsville". The Nation. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  3. ^ "Blessed are the peacemakers". The Economist. May 21, 2016. Archived from the original on May 19, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Lewis, Daniel (April 30, 2016). "Daniel J. Berrigan, Defiant Priest Who Preached Pacifism, Dies at 94". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 21, 2020. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  5. ^ Goodman, Amy (June 8, 2006). "Holy Outlaw: Lifelong Peace Activist Father Daniel Berrigan Turns 85". Democracy Now!. Archived from the original on December 18, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2016. Starts at 35:00
  6. ^ "US anti-Vietnam war priest Daniel Berrigan dies aged 94". BBC News. May 2016. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2018.