Conrad Pepler (born Stephen Pepler; 5 May 1908 – 10 November 1993) was an English Dominican priest, writer, editor, and publisher. He was the founding Warden of the first

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

conference centre in the United Kingdom, at Spode House,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

Life

He was born Stephen Pepler in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, west London, where his father Hilary Pepler was running a working-men's club. In 1916 the family moved to Ditchling in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, where Hilary,

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as "the greatest artist-craftsma ...

and Desmond Chute set up the Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic, a community of Catholic artist-craftsmen. Hilary was the community's printer. Stephen was received into the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in 1916, and sent to the Dominican boarding school at Hawkesyard Priory, Staffordshire. On leaving school he worked for his father in the printing shop until, in 1927, he entered the Dominican order, taking the name of Conrad. On 10 May 1948, he spoke in Oxford, England, to the Socratic Club on "The Necessity of Christian Mysticism" with T. M. Parker also addressing the topic. He and others attended

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...

on his deathbed in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in 1951. He is buried in the Ascension Parish Burial Ground in

Influence

Writings

*''The English religious heritage''. St Louis, MO: B. Herder, 1958. *''Sacramental prayer''. St Louis, MO: B. Herder, 1959. *''The three degrees: A study of Christian mysticism''. London: Blackfriars Publications, 1957. *''Riches despised: A study of the roots of religion''. St Louis, MO: B. Herder, 1957. *''Lent, a liturgical commentary on the lessons and gospels''. St Louis, MO: B. Herder, 1944.

External links

* "Unrelieved grief is almost a pagan conception", by Conrad Pepler, O.P., Catholic Herald, 12 June 1953. http://archive.catholicherald.co.uk/article/12th-june-1953/6/unrelieved-grief-is-almost-a-pagan-conception

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pepler, Conrad 1908 births 1993 deaths English Dominicans English printers 20th-century English Roman Catholic priests 20th-century English businesspeople