"So I will disappear"
Insights into the Writings of Thomas Merton

College of the Holy Cross
December 10, 2003

On December 10, 1968, Thomas Merton, the celebrated Trappist monk and writer, was accidentally electrocuted in Bangkok,Thailand, while attending an Asian monastic conference. His final statement of his last conference at Bangkok was, "So I will disappear."

And so Thomas Merton did disappear but his legacy and writings remain current and relevant for all of us today. This program marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of Merton's death. He entered the Monastery at Gethsemani, Kentucky, on the same date in 1941, which also means that the date of this conference marks the sixty-second anniversary of Merton's entrance into the Order of the Cistercians of the Strict Observance, the Trappists.

There will be an introductory paper outlining the life of Thomas Merton and subsequent papers will touch upon several themes present in the Merton canon. There will be an opportunity for questions after each of the presentations as well as a panel of the presenters to dialogue with audience.