Richard Rohr

Franciscan Friar & Founder

Centre for Action and Contemplation

You don’t think yourself into a new way of living—you live yourself into a new way of thinking.

About Richard

I was born in Kansas during World War II and grew up in a conservative Catholic family.
When I was 14 years old, I read about Saint Francis of Assisi and decided I wanted to be like him.
I entered the Franciscans when I was 18.
I studied philosophy and theology and earned my master’s degree in theology in 1970—I was ordained into the priesthood that same year.
I was put in charge of youth retreats in Cincinnati, where I would preach to young men on track to graduate from Catholic high school—the work really propelled my interest in male initiation rites.
After an especially memorable sermon, the retreats grew bigger and bigger, I gained a lot of recognition, and my sermons started being taped.
In 1986, I founded the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which aims to guide those seeking to experience the Christian contemplative tradition.