Laurence Freeman OSB (born 17 July 1951) is a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned (" ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers onl ...

and a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

of Monastery of Sta Maria di Pilastrello, in Italy, a monastery of the Olivetan Congregation. He is the Director of the World Community for Christian Meditation and of its Benedictine

oblate In Christianity (especially in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person who is specifically dedicated to God or to God's service. Oblates are individuals, either laypersons or clergy, normally liv ...

community.

Biography

Born in England in 1951, he was educated by the Benedictines and studied English literature at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...

. Before entering monastic life he worked in the fields of banking and journalism and at the United Nations. In 1975, Freeman joined Fr

John Main John Douglas Main Order of Saint Benedict, OSB (21 January 1926 – 30 December 1982) was a Roman Catholic priest and Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monk who presented a way of Christian meditation which used a prayer-phrase or mantra. ...

OSB at

Ealing Abbey Ealing Abbey is a Catholic Benedictine monastic foundation on Castlebar Hill in Ealing. It is part of the English Benedictine Congregation. As of 2020, the Abbey had 14 monks. History The monastery at Ealing was founded in 1897 from Downside ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, as part of the first experimental lay community dedicated to living a Benedictine life with Christian meditation as its contemplative practice. From this was established the Christian Meditation Centre in London. In 1977 at the invitation of the

Archbishop of Montreal The Archdiocese of Montréal ( la, Archdioecesis Marianopolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Canada. A metropolitan see, its archepiscopal see is the Montreal, Quebec. It includes Montreal ...

, he went to Canada with Main to establish a Benedictine community of monks and laypeople dedicated to the practice and teaching of Christian meditation. Freeman studied theology at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...

and at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Univer ...

. He made his solemn monastic

profession A profession is a field of work that has been successfully '' professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, '' professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted b ...

religious vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhism tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of re ...

in 1979 and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

to the priesthood in 1980. After John Main’s death in 1982, Freeman continued the work of teaching meditation that had now begun to develop into a global community. He continues to travel the world giving talks and retreats. In 1991 he returned to live in England to establish the international centre of the newly formed World Community for Christian Meditation that is now present in over 100 countries. Strongly committed to inter-religious dialogue and international peace initiatives, between 1998 and 2000 Freeman took part in the historic "Way of Peace" programme – a series of Christian-Buddhist dialogues with the Dalai Lama in India, Italy and Belfast. The programme continued in 2013 with further dialogues in Sarnath, India. In 2006 he co-hosted a meeting at York University exploring the common ground between Christianity and Islam. He was a keynote speaker at the

World Parliament of Religions There have been several meetings referred to as a Parliament of the World's Religions, the first being the World's Parliament of Religions of 1893, which was an attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths. The event was celebrated by another c ...

in Melbourne, Australia, in 2009. Freeman was awarded the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

in 2010 in recognition of his work of interfaith dialogue and the promotion of world peace. Freeman’s work also involves encouraging the teaching of meditation to children and students. He founded the John Main Center for Meditation and Inter-Religious Dialogue at Georgetown University in the United States and sees the contemplative dimension of knowledge as an essential characteristic of all true education. In 2010 he launched the Meditatio outreach programme of WCCM to mark the celebration of its twentieth anniversary. Meditatio hosts seminars, forums and workshops to engage in dialogue with the secular world and produces publications and resources on the themes of education, mental health, business, addiction and recovery, interfaith and other topics. Through the World Community for Christian Meditation, now established as a contemporary and ecumenical contemplative community, Freeman continues the work of teaching Christian meditation and restoring the contemplative as an essential and central dimension of all Christian spirituality.

Writings

Freeman is the author of many books, including ''Light Within'', ''Selfless Self'', ''Your Daily Practice'', ''The Inner Pilgrimage'', ''Jesus: The Teacher Within'' and ''First Sight: The Experience of Faith''. He writes for journals and magazines and is a regular contributor to ''

The Tablet ''The Tablet'' is a Catholic international weekly review published in London. Brendan Walsh, previously literary editor and then acting editor, was appointed editor in July 2017. History ''The Tablet'' was launched in 1840 by a Quaker convert ...

''. He is also the principal editor of

’s works. * ''Meditation'' (2019) *
Sensing God: Meditation for Lent
' (2016) * ''Why are we here?'' (2012) * ''The Goal of Life'' (2012) * ''First Sight: The Experience of Faith'' (2011) * ''Jesus, the Teacher Within'' (2010) * ''The Selfless Self'' (2009) * ''Light Within'' (1986) ISBN 0 232 51683 9 * ''Christian Meditation: Your Daily Practice'' (2007) * ''The Inner Pilgrimage'' (2007) * ''A Simple Way'' (2004) * ''A Pearl of Great Price'' (2002) * ''Common Ground'' (1999) * ''Web of Silence'' (1998) * ''A Short Span of Days'' (1991)

References

External links

Freeman's profile
on the World Community for Christian Meditation website
Meditation with Children - Directed by Laurence Freeman OSB

Christian Meditation Groups - A Pearl of Great Price, Laurence Freeman OSB, author

Christian Meditation as an 11th Step Recovery Program

La Meditación Cristiana

The John Main Center and inter-religious dialogue, Georgetown University - Founder Father Laurence Freeman

Fr Laurence Freeman page, Russian WCCM site

Fr Laurence Freeman page, Ukrainian WCCM site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Laurence 1951 births Living people People educated at St Benedict's School, Ealing Alumni of New College, Oxford English Benedictines Université de Montréal alumni McGill University alumni 20th-century English Roman Catholic priests 21st-century English Roman Catholic priests Officers of the Order of Canada