In a long and creative academic career, Professor Bernard J. Lee has published and taught on the cutting edge of Catholic theology. He has been a beloved teacher, generous mentor and cherished colleague during his academic tenures at Maryville University, St. John’s University (Collegeville), Loyola University New Orleans, and St. Mary’s University, San Antonio.

In A Life in Conversation, his colleagues and former students offer a collection of essays that honor him on the occasion of his eightieth birthday. The essays focus on many aspects of Lee’s pioneering work which includes explorations in process theology, ecclesiology, the Jewish world of Jesus, sacramentology, religious life, small Christian communities, and practical theology.

Gathered here under the metaphorical umbrella of conversation, a commitment of primary and life-long importance to Professor Lee, these essays offer glimpses of the stature of a religious thinker whose life in conversation continues to affect deeply his students and colleagues alike.

The authors contributing to this volume are Dianne Bergant, C.S.A.; Michael A. Cowan; Nancy Dallavalle; William V. D'Antonio; Peter Eichten; Thomas F. Giardino, S.M.; Andrew Simon Sleeman, O.S.B.; Terry A. Veling; and Evelyn and James Whitehead. A Life in Conversation concludes with an essay by Professor Lee.