Indian-born Anthony de Mello was a psychotherapist and priest who became widely known for his popular speaking and best-selling books on spirituality. Influential first amongst Indian Jesuits and other Religious, de Mello became well-known in the United States by the mid-1970s. He was often invited to present retreats and workshops in America and used often hilarious stories and examples. De Mello was reluctant to have his lectures recorded; however, many have been reconstructed from the notes of those attending.

Sadhana: A Way to God is his best-known work, although The Song of the Bird and Wellsprings have also proven popular. De Mello melded his psychotherapist’s training with Eastern and Western spiritualities. He wanted people to “awaken” and become more fully aware of the reality around them.

De Mello died suddenly in 1987. In 1998, his writings were condemned by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. Cardinal Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI, wrote:

But already in certain passages in [his] early works and to a greater degree in his later publications, one notices a progressive distancing from the essential contents of the Christian faith. … With the present Notification, in order to protect the good of the Christian faithful, this Congregation declares that the above-mentioned positions are incompatible with the Catholic faith and can cause grave harm.

This Vatican scolding only seems to have encouraged De Mello’s popularity, and his books continue to sell steadily.

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