Henri Nouwen's Unpublished Papers Set to Be Released 20 Years After His Death | Sojourners

Henri Nouwen's Unpublished Papers Set to Be Released 20 Years After His Death

Henri Nouwen. Image via Frank Hamilton / Wikimedia Commons

Henri Nouwen’s unpublished works are set to be released by Convergent Books, according to Religion News Service columnist Jonathan Merritt.

The Dutch Catholic priest who wrote masterpieces like The Wounded Healer, The Return of the Prodigal Son, and Life of the Beloved left behind enough material for multiple volumes to come over the next few years.

Merritt reports:

Convergent Books, a division of Penguin Random House, has signed a multi-book contract with the Henri Nouwen Legacy Trust. The first book is scheduled to hit bookstores in September of 2016 and will be a collection of unpublished letters under the working title “Love, Henri.” The specific content of the projects is being kept secret, but those involved with the project hinted that the books might offer fresh revelations about Nouwen’s life and thinking, including details about the priest’s personal struggles.

Nouwen’s struggles included attraction to other men, which has been a source of much curiosity among his admirers. He never publicly acknowledged his identity as a gay man during his life, and by all accounts, he remained true to his priestly vow of celibacy until his death.

“[Nouwen] had a very intense emotional life, a need to be held, and a desire for love. And, in his letters, he addressed questions of how he lives his sexuality and how he lives his celibacy,” [Gabrielle] Earnshaw [curator of the Henri J.M. Nouwen Archives] says. “But I’m hoping that the issue of his sexuality doesn’t overshadow his genuine search for love, intimacy, and friendship.”

Sojourners' Jim Wallis will be delivering an inaugural Henri Nouwen Society lecture on spirituality and social justice in Ontario on Nov. 14. Read the full column here.