Laurence Freeman OSB (born 17 July 1951) is an
English Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
monk and
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 ...
priest. He belongs to the Monastery of Sta Maria di Pilastrello, in Italy, of the Congregation of
Monte Oliveto Maggiore. He is the director of the
World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM), prior of its Benedictine Oblate community and director of Bonnevaux, the international centre of the WCCM in France.
Biography
Born in England in 1951, he was educated by the Benedictines and studied English literature at
New College, Oxford
New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...
. Before entering monastic life he worked in banking and journalism and at the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
.
His spiritual teacher, whom he succeeded, was the
Irish Benedictine monk
John Main OSB. In 1975, Freeman joined
John Main at his monastery in London, Ealing Abbey, in starting the first Christian Meditation Centre. This led to an invitation from the Archdiocese of Montreal, Quebec, Canada to start a new kind of Benedictine community of monks and lay members dedicated to the practice and teaching of meditation in the Christian tradition. Meditation was integrated into the Office and Eucharist as it is still done in the WCCM and at Bonnevaux.
Freeman and Main started the Benedictine priory of
Montréal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
in 1977. From this emerged over the following years the global spiritual family of WCCM.
Freeman studied theology at the
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) 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-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...
and at
McGill University
McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
. He made his solemn monastic
profession
A profession is a field of Work (human activity), 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 ...
of
religious vows
Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views.
In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, many different kinds of r ...
in 1979 and was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
to the priesthood in 1980 by Bishop Leonard Crowley in Montreal.
After John Main’s death in 1982, Freeman continued the work of teaching meditation that soon began to develop into a global community. He began to teach around the world through talks, retreats and writings. He participated in the 1990-91 John Main Seminar led by Fr
Bede Griffiths OSB Cam at which the WCCM was formally established.
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
Interfaith dialogue, also known as interreligious dialogue, refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the indi ...
and international peace initiatives, between 1998 and 2000 Freeman took part in the historic "Way of Peace" programme – a series of
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
-
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
dialogues with the
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣 识一切 瓦齐尔达喇 达赖 喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...
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
York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...
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. In 1995, he led the John Main Seminar ‘On Jesus’ which was the seed of his book ‘Jesus: The Teacher Within’
Freeman was awarded the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...
in 2010 in recognition of his work of interfaith dialogue and the promotion of world peace.
Dom Laurence Freeman: Order of Canada
/ref>
Freeman’s work also involves encouraging the teaching of meditation to children and university students. In 2005 he founded the John Main Centre for Meditation and Inter-Religious Dialogue at Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
in the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
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. Its seminars, forums and workshops engage in dialogue with the secular world and produces publications and resources on the themes of education, mental health, business, addiction and recovery, interfaith, environment and social justice.
In 2014 he began the MBA course ‘Meditation and Leadership’ at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University which led to many initiatives in the business world and other fields emphasising the connection between personal and organisation transformation.
In 2018 Freeman became director of Bonnevaux, near Poitiers, France, which is the International Centre of the WCCM where he lives with a community living the Rule of Saint Benedict
The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot.
The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up in the motto of th ...
in a contemplative and contemporary way.
Writings
Freeman is the author of many books, including ''Light Within'', ''Jesus: The Teacher Within'' and ''Good Work: Meditation for Personal and Organisational Transformation''. He is the principal editor of John Main's works.
* Good Work (2019)
* ''Christian Meditation: Essential Teaching Weekend (''2019)
* ''Sensing God: Learning to Meditate During Lent'' (2016)
* ''Christian Meditation: Six-Week Introductory Course'' (2016)
* ''Beauty’s Field: Seeing the World'' (2014)
* ''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)
* ''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)
* ''Aspects of Love'' (1997)
* ''A Short Span of Days'' (1991)
* ''Light Within: Meditation As Pure Prayer'' (1986)
References
External links
Freeman's profile
on the World Community for Christian Meditation website
Christian Meditation Groups - A Pearl of Great Price, Laurence Freeman OSB, author
*
The John Main Center and inter-religious dialogue, Georgetown University - Founder Father Laurence Freeman
Fr Laurence Freeman page, Ukrainian WCCM site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Laurence
1951 births
Living people
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
Christian mantra meditation