In recent weeks, as the church and world learned more about its new pope, many theologians and scholars were also remembering American theologian Fr. David Tracy, who died April 29 in Chicago at age 86.
A former student said Pope Leo XIV's invitation to ecumenical dialogue and to deeper listening within the church reminded her of Tracy, who was described by the University of Chicago as "one of the most important theological voices of the late 20th century."
The university, where Tracy had been a longtime professor at its Divinity School, also said Tracy's work helped "reshape contemporary theology by insisting on dialogue across traditions, disciplines and publics."
Ryan Coyne, associate professor of philosophy of religions and theology at the Divinity School and a former student of Tracy's, told the university that Tracy was "undoubtedly one of the most important theologians of his generation, a towering figure in religious studies."
"For generations of students and colleagues, David was at the very core of their intellectual endeavors. He read so widely and so deeply that virtually everyone on campus found in him a serious conversation partner and a friend. He pivoted with ease from poetry, philosophy and art to the history of science, political theory, and modern fiction," Coyne said in a Divinity School article about Tracy's death. "He took seriously the charge to engage religious and intellectual traditions other than his own, to meet them on their own terms. And he did it all with legendary equanimity and humor, always displaying a boundless generosity of spirit."