Jean Leclercq OSB (31 January 1911 – 27 October 1993) was a French Benedictine monk, priest, and preeminent scholar of medieval monasticism. He is best known for his classic studies on Lectio Divina, the history of inter-monastic dialogue, and the life and theology of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. In the English-speaking world, he is most famous for his seminal work The Love of Learning and the Desire for God: A Study of Monastic Culture.
Early Life
Leclercq was born in Avesnes, Pas-de-Calais, France, the second of four children. His family moved frequently due to World War I. He attended the College of St-Pierre-de-Fourmies from 1920 to 1928. As a young man, he sought to enter Clervaux Abbey in Luxembourg as a lay brother but was twice refused. He was finally accepted as a postulant for the priesthood on 22 September 1928, received as a novice on 24 June 1929, and made his simple vows as a Benedictine monk on 29 June 1930. He studied philosophy at Clervaux Abbey, served one year of military service as a gunner in Metz, and completed his theological studies at the Benedictine Pontifical University of Sant'Anselmo in Rome (1933–1937). He was ordained to the priesthood on 19 September 1936.
Scholarly Career
During World War II, Leclercq served in an anti-aircraft artillery battery. He defended his thesis at the Institut Catholique of Paris on John of Paris, a disciple of Thomas Aquinas. From 1941 to 1944, he researched and cataloged Latin manuscripts at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. In the winter of 1945–1946, while at Engelberg Abbey, he discovered unpublished texts of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, which led to his later publication of the critical edition of the complete works of Saint Bernard.
In 1956, Leclercq began a series of lectures in Milan and at the Benedictine University in Rome that formed the foundation of The Love of Learning and the Desire for God (published in French in 1957, English translation in 1961). He traveled throughout the United States in 1959 and met Thomas Merton, with whom he became a lifelong friend and correspondent.
Key Contributions
Monastic Life: Leclercq proposed that monastic life was fundamentally about a contemplative orientation. He distinguished between "contemplative life" (a general orientation of life, eschatological in nature) and "contemplation" (special moments of grace), arguing that a monk is always contemplative even if this is lived out in varying ways.
Monastic Theology: Leclercq identified a distinctive "Monastic Theology" that he argued had been overtaken by Scholastic Theology. He traced a historical progression: Patristic Theology (first six centuries), Monastic Theology (until the 12th century), and Scholastic Theology (thereafter). Monastic Theology, he argued, was grounded in liturgy, Scripture, and the Church Fathers, lived out through Lectio Divina, meditation, prayer, and contemplation. It emphasized mystery, symbols, subjectivity, experience, and affectus fidei (affection of faith), in contrast to the systematic, analytical approach of Scholastic Theology. He contrasted Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (representing monastic theology as sapientia/wisdom) with Peter Abelard (representing scholastic theology as scientia/knowledge).
Aide à l'Implantation Monastique (AIM)
Leclercq was instrumental in the early years of AIM, an organization founded in 1957 to coordinate assistance for Benedictine, Cistercian, and Trappist monasteries in developing countries. He traveled extensively on behalf of AIM to Africa, Asia, the Americas, and elsewhere.
Works and Legacy
Leclercq's articles and books number 1,053 items. He was described as "the most influential of all contemporary historians of the Middle Ages" and "the most prolific medievalist of the past fifty years." The most complete bibliography of his works is found in E. Rozanne Elder, ed., The Joy of Learning and the Love of God: Studies in Honor of Jean Leclercq (Cistercian Studies Series, 1995), pp. 414–498.
On 20 April 2020, the Centre/Centro Jean Leclercq was founded at the Benedictine Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm in Rome to research and promote the "Leclercqian perspective for interdisciplinary dialogue between history, spirituality, philosophy, theology and liturgy."
