The Latino Leadership Circle commemorates the exemplary life and contribution of Thomas Merton and his work towards peace in our world.
Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) was a 20th century Catholic writer. A Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, in the U.S. state of Kentucky, Merton was a poet, a social activist, a student of comparative religion as well as the author of numerous works on spirituality. He wrote more than 60 books, scores of essays and reviews, and is the subject of several biographies. Merton was a keen proponent of inter-religious understanding, engaging in spiritual dialogues with the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh and D. T. Suzuki.