Kathleen P. Deignan,

CND The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucle ...

, (born 17 December 1947), is an Irish-American theologian, author and songwriter of contemporary liturgical music. A Sister of the Congregation of Notre Dame, she is composer-in-residence for Schola Ministries and is the founding director of the Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit Institute at

Iona College Iona University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochell ...

, New York. She previously directed the Iona Institute for Peace and Justice Studies in Ireland. Deignan is a GreenFaith Fellow who completed an intensive training in religious environmental leadership. Her work in this area focuses on the legacy of Father

Thomas Berry Thomas Berry, CP (November 9, 1914 – June 1, 2009) was a Catholic priest, cultural historian, and scholar of the world’s religions, especially Asian traditions. Later, as he studied Earth history and evolution, he called himself a “geolog ...

. She is Emerita President of the International

Thomas Merton Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. On May 26, 1949, he was ordained to the Catholic priesthood and giv ...

Society and a Board Member of the American Teilhard Association. She is an author, public speaker, and environmental advocate.

Biography

Deignan is Emerita Professor of Religious Studies at

, and the founding director of the Kathleen Deignan, CND Institute for Earth and Spirit.. She received her master's degree in Spirituality Studies and her doctorate in Historical Theology from Fordham University in New York, where she was to later be awarded the university's ''Sapientia et Doctrina Award'' for her service to renewal of the church in 2009. She is the author of ''Christ Spirit: The Eschatology of

Shaker Shaker or Shakers may refer to: Religious groups * Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect * Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination Objects and instruments * Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone * Cock ...

Christianity'' and writes and lectures widely on classical and contemporary spirituality, particularly the legacy of

. She is the author of ''When the Trees Say Nothing: Writings on Nature'', ''Thomas Merton: A Book of Hours'', and she also released a two-disc CD "A Book of Hours: At Prayer with Thomas Merton". She has composed over two hundred songs for worship and prayer, and she has been part of two liturgical ensembles. Along with Evelyn Avoglia she founded Schola Ministries a publishing and performing project where she is composer-in-residence. This ministry which began with the worship community at Sacred Heart University, was located at the Benedictine Grange

where she was composer in residence and leader of the ensemble ''Anima Schola'' until the closure of Benedictine Grange in 2018. Her music is produced by producer, composer and performer

Paul Avgerinos Paul Avgerinos (born November 21, 1957 in Norwalk, Connecticut) is an American music composer, performer, and producer. His work is in the genres of ambient, space, world, World Fusion, electronic, and drone. Avgerinos has worked with Deana Cart ...

. As a member of the Congregation of Notre Dame, founded by

Saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

Marguerite Bourgeoys, she is engaged in the mission of education, which at times is expressed in peace, social justice, and ecological justice concerns. She initiated and formerly directed the Iona College Institute for Peace and Justice Studies in Ireland and the Iona College Spirituality Institute's Celtic Spirituality Pilgrimage to Ireland. Deignan is also engaged in interfaith dialoguebr>
with

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

, and

Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

. Her parents, Patrick Paul and Bridget, were born in Ireland and later emigrated to London where Kathleen was born. Another emigration brought the Deignans to New York City where Kathleen was raised on

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

's Upper West Side. Her sister is Ann Deignan, a physician and poet. One of Sr. Deignan's edited volumes of Thomas Merton's work was praised by the '' National Catholic Reporter''.

Discography

*1984 – ''A Garden Once Again: Songs in Celebration of Creation'' *1984 – ''Of Thanks and Wonder: '' *1997 – ''Stations: Songs for the Paschal Journey'' *1998 – ''Borne by Grace: Songs of Contemplation and Praise'' *1999 – ''Bride Spirit: Songs of the Beloved'' *1999 – ''Visitation: Songs of the Congregation of Notre Dame'' *2000 – ''Pax Amor Christi: A Trinity of Songs'' *2000 – ''Sabbath: Songs for Worship'' *2002 – ''The Servant's Heart: Songs of Devotion'' *2003 – ''Returning: Songs for the Journey Home'' *2005 – ''Sentinel of the Invisible: Jeanne LeBer'' *2008 – ''The Gift: Songs of the Grateful Heart'' *2009 – ''A Book of Hours: At Prayer with Thomas Merton'' *2009 – ''Ave: Songs of the Congregation of Notre Dame'' *2010 – ''A Garden Once Again: Songs in Celebration of Creation''

Bibliography

*1992 – ''Christ Spirit: The Eschatology of Shaker Christianity''. *2003 – Thomas Merton,'When the Trees Say Nothing: Writings on Nature'' (edited by Kathleen Deignan). *2007 – ''Thomas Merton: A Book of Hours''. *2009 – ''Thomas Merton: El Libro de las Horas''. *2009 – ''Thomas Merton: Księga godzin''.

References

External links

Official WebsiteDeignan's Posts on Huffington PostKathleen P. Deignan, Ph.D.
– Profile at

Deignan's recordings on CD Baby
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deignan, Kathleen P. 1948 births Living people Iona University alumni Christian music songwriters English emigrants to the United States 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns American theologians Fordham University alumni 21st-century American Roman Catholic nuns