Robert Ellsberg Interview

Three Fascinating Jesuits Who Could Change Your Life With Robert Ellsberg

One cool thing about the Jesuits is the huge number of incredible men who have served the Lord so faithfully over the centuries. A lot of these guys are so well-known you can call them by just a single name: Ignatius, Xavier, Gonzaga, Canisius, Faber, Claver, Arrupe, Teilhard, Hopkins.

But there have been thousands of other fascinating Jesuits who aren’t quite as famous, and it’s always fun to learn about them. Guest Robert Ellsberg has forgotten more about saints and other holy men and women than most of us will ever know.

Robert is the editor-in-chief and publisher of Orbis Books, the esteemed publishing arm of the Maryknoll order. He is also the author of “Blessed Among Us”, a column on saints and other saintly witnesses that appears in the monthly Catholic prayer resource “Give Us This Day.” He has written about over 1000 saints, both canonized and not.

Host Mike Jordan Laskey wanted to know which Jesuits Robert has encountered in his research and own faith journey have inspired him the most. In particular, who are three under-known Jesuits we might all want to meet?

Robert picked three three: Jean Pierre de Caussade, Alfred Delp and Walter Ciszek.

The conversation also veered to Dorothy Day often, which is going to happen anytime you get Robert on the line. He served as the editor of the Catholic Worker newspaper in the final years of Dorothy Day’s life. In fact, Dorothy introduced him to the work of Jean Pierre de Caussade, and he shares that story in the episode.

He also talked his famous father, Daniel Ellsberg, who in 1971 released to the press a classified document related to the United States’ history in Vietnam called the “Pentagon Papers.” His dad’s bold act of heroism had a huge impact on Robert’s life, especially in forming his strong pacifist views.

Orbis Books:

https://www.maryknollmagazine.org/orbis-books/

"Blessed Among Us":

https://litpress.org/Products/E4745/Blessed-Among-Us

Robert Ellsberg in America Magazine: https://www.americamagazine.org/voices/robert-ellsberg

AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States