The Patrons of the Society are:

Esther de Waal

Esther de Waal is an historian and author with a particular interest in Celtic, Benedictine and Cistercian spirituality. She is a popular retreat leader who has a great interest in the work of Thomas Merton. In the introduction to her book-"A Seven Day Journey with Thomas Merton", she describes Merton's influence as "....this most extraordinary man who has proved to be a friend, guide and inspiration for so many..."

Dr Rowan Williams

Dr Rowan Williams is a theologian, writer and poet. He is currently Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge. He spent much of his earlier career as an academic at the universities of Oxford & Cambridge. After serving as Bishop of Monmouth and subsequently Archbishop of Wales, he was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, serving from 2002 until 2012. He has a keen interest in Thomas Merton, having been a keynote speaker at our 1998 residential conference and the principal speaker at our meeting in London in 2008 on the 40th anniversary of Merton's death. He has published a collection of his talks & writings on Merton - A Silent Action: Engagements with Thomas Merton

Sister Mary Luke CHC

Sister Mary Luke is the member of the Anglican Benedictine Community of the Holy Cross in Loughborough. She first became acquainted with Thomas Merton through reading 'Elected Silence' while training as a nurse at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington. Several years later she became an air stewardess with British Airways. It was on a trip to New York and the Caribbean that she became aware of God calling her to the religious life. One of the first books she bought after that was 'The Sign of Jonas'. She entered the Community of the Holy Cross on 18th October 1975, and was elected Reverend Mother on 8th November 1991, stepping down in 2020.

Reverend Canon Lucy Winkett

Revd. Canon Lucy Winkett is an Anglican priest, who since 2010 has been the Rector of St James's Church, Piccadilly. Ordained in 1995, two years later she joined the clergy of St Paul's Cathedral in London, the first female priest to do so. From 2003 until moving to St James's, she was the Canon Precentor at the Cathedral. She has published several books, and is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day. She hosted the Society’s 2015 Merton centenary celebration at St James's.

Sophfronia Scott

Sophfronia Scott is a novelist, essayist, and leading contemplative thinker. Her book The Seeker and the Monk: Everyday Conversations with Thomas Merton won the 2021 Thomas Merton “Louie” Award from the International Thomas Merton Society (ITMS). In 2022 she spoke on "Uncovering a Hidden Wholeness: The Essence of Unity and Thomas Merton’s Hope for the Human Race" for the 16th Annual Thomas Merton Black History Month Lecture at Bellarmine University. That same year she presented the paper "Bearing Witness to Hope: Merton’s Reach for Simplicity" for our online conference in September. Sophfronia is currently the director of the Alma College MFA in Creative Writing, a low residency graduate program based in Alma, Michigan. She also leads spiritual and writing retreats including the annual "Write of Your Life" retreat in the Veneto region of Italy and "Thomas Merton and the Transformative Power of Love" at the Meditatio Centre in London. Sophfronia serves on the board of ITMS and lives in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.

Fr Nicolas CR

Fr Nicolas Stebbing was born in Zimbabwe, and is a member of the Community of the Resurrection, Mirfield, West Yorkshire. Reading Elected Silence on a train in 1968 helped to direct his vocation to monastic life. More recently he has discovered how relevant Merton’s questions in the sixties are to the renewal of monastic life today. In Zimbabwe and South Africa he was much involved in the struggle against apartheid. As a monk at Mirfield he teaches Greek to novices, gives Ignatian retreats, has concern for ecumenism amongst Religious sisters and brothers, and works also with the charity Tariro in Zimbabwe which he helped to found.