The first session in this year’s Modern Mystics series considers Egied Van Broeckhoven SJ, very little-known outside the Dutch-speaking world but an important voice in the story of modern mysticism. Van Broeckhoven entered the Jesuit order aged 17 and (alongside two brothers) placed himself in and among the people, and particularly the poor and marginalised in Brussels. Van Broeckhoven worked in a factory and emersed himself in the harshness of the lives of his comrades. It was doing this work that killed Van Broeckhoven as he was crushed under heavy materials. 
 
In the last years of his life, he wrote down his experiences in his diaries. It is there that we find both profound mystical experiences and Christian contemplation on his harsh reality, in which he comments that ‘Even if I could choose between the burning bush and Brussels, I would choose Brussels.’ It is these texts that give us much insight into Van Broeckhoven as a mystic. Although little known today, his life, work and writings combines much of what we see in others like Simone Weil and Dag Hammarskjöld and offers another perspective on the political and social aspects of mysticism. 

About the Modern Mystics Series

We often think that mysticism is a thing of the past, that the great mystics like Francis of Assisi, Julian of Norwich or Teresa of Avila are resigned to times long gone, and that mysticism died in the Reformations, the Enlightenment, or the Quietist Controversy.

However, there are important mystical elements of all major world religions today including Christianity, and many 20th-, and 21st-century figures exemplify mysticism.

In our fifth series of webinars on Modern Mystics, we are excited to look at three major figures of the 20th century. Each webinar will be led by an expert on the mystic in question, and will consist of a 50-minute introductory lecture on that figure and their mystical writings. After a quick break we will have 30 minutes for Q&A with our expert. Each webinar runs from 7:30-9 PM (UK time) on Zoom on a Monday evening.

This series will look at three extraordinary writers and figures of this period. Each session is led by an expert who has researched and published on the specific mystical writer and the Christian mystical tradition more broadly.

Schedule and speakers

Monday 21st September: Egied Van Broeckhoven with John Arblaster

Monday 28th September: Mother Teresa of Kolkata with Ines Murzaku

Monday 5th October: Iris Murdoch with Donna Lazenby