FATHER IAN BOYD, C.S.B.
RESQUIESCAT IN PACE
January 23, 1935 — January 10, 2024
“Because human life has all the characteristics of a story. We are characters in a story told by God. Like a novel it has an ordered plot, meaning everything in our lives is significant and providential.”Father Ian Boyd
Tribute Messages for Father Ian Boyd, C.S.B. (1935-2024)
The G. K. Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture Seton Hall University has prepared this special publication to commemorate and celebrate the life and contributions of
Father Ian Boyd, C. S. B.
Website: www.shu.edu/chesterton
Email: chestertoninstitute@shu.edu
The G. K. Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture Mourns the Death of
Father Ian Boyd, C.S.B. -- January 23, 1935 – January 10, 2024
“Human life has all the characteristics of a story. We are characters in a story told by God. Like a novel it has an ordered plot, meaning everything in our lives is significant and providential.”
Ian Boyd CSBFather Ian Boyd, a priest of the Congregation of Saint Basil and an internationally recognized Chesterton scholar, died in Edmonton, Canada on January 10, 2024. He was the author of The Novels of G.K. Chesterton (London 1975). For many years, he was Professor of English at St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan. From 1999-2020, he taught at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, and author of The Novels of G. K. Chesterton.
He received a B.A. from the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada (1956); an S.T.B. Degree, University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto, Canada (1964); an M.A. from the University of Toronto, Canada (1965), and a Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland (1970).
As a young child, he became acquainted with the works of G. K. Chesterton when reading his father’s copy of G. K.’s Weekly. Chesterton was present at every stage in his life, and for the last 50 years, he devoted his work to writing and lecturing about the life, thought and body of work of G. K. Chesterton. In 1974, while at St. Thomas More College, and after attending the Centenary Conference of the Birth of G. K. Chesterton, he founded the G. K. Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture and its widely recognized journal The Chesterton Review.
In 1999, Father Boyd brought both the Institute and the journal to Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, where they are permanently housed in the Center for Catholic Studies. At the invitation of universities, study-centers and various organizations, Father Boyd travelled all over the world sharing his knowledge of Chesterton and his circle and his scholarly work, inspiring a new generation of Chestertonians. He lectured across the U.S., Canada, Europe, South America, Australia and Japan.
In addition to lecturing about G. K. Chesterton, Maurice Baring, Paul Claudel, Charles Péguy, Hilaire Belloc and others, he also lectured on the subject of "Sacramental Themes in Modern Literature.” Among the Christian authors whose work he discussed are T.S. Eliot, Graham Greene, C. S. Lewis, Flannery O'Connor, Piers Paul Read, Muriel Spark and Evelyn Waugh. In nineteenth-century literature, he was also interested in the work of such authors as Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Father Boyd was President Emeritus of the G. K. Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture based at Seton Hall University and was the founding editor of The Chesterton Review.
In 2019, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Institute at Seton Hall University and the 45th anniversary of its foundation, a permanent placque and exhibit was installed at Seton Hall University’s Walsh Library.
Father Boyd retired in 2020.
In 2022, the G. K. Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture produced “A Chestertonian Conversation with Father Ian Boyd,” a 27-minute documentary which was screened online on December 13, 2022.
Father Boyd died in Edmonton, AB, Canada on January 10th, 2024. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Saturday, January 20th., in St. Andrew’s church, Edmonton, Archbishop Richard William Smith presided. Glenn McDonald CSB preached. Kevin Storey CSB, Basilian Superior General, led the Final Commendation. Interment was at Holy Cross Cemetery, Edmonton, AB.
For more information about Father Ian Boyd and the Institute, you can visit:
https://www.shu.edu/chesterton/
MESSAGES & TRIBUTES
Message from the Interim President of Seton Hall University
Dr. Katia PasseriniWe know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” —Romans 8:28
With sadness I share the news with you of the passing of Father Ian Boyd, C.S.B., retired Distinguished Professor, College of Arts and Sciences and Director of the Chesterton Institute. Father Boyd died on Wednesday evening, January 10.
Father Boyd, a priest of the Congregation of St Basil, was an internationally recognized G.K. Chesterton scholar. He came to Seton Hall from Canada in 1999, bringing with him the G.K Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture and The Chesterton Review, the highly regarded journal he founded and edited since 1974 .
Father Boyd did good work, through his love for God and his obedience to his purpose.
His dedication and reputation helped promote serious academic study of Chesterton and the intellectual tradition that he represented Father retired in 2020 as President Emeritus of the G.K Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture and returned to Canada to be closer to family. He remained active in pursuing his scholarly interests and remained close to his colleagues at the University.
Father Boyd's service at Seton Hall is remembered on a plaque located on the first floor in Walsh Library.
I ask that you join me in remembering him in prayer. May our prayers help bring comfort and peace to his family and those that loved him and were inspired by him.
Katia Passerini, PH.D Interim PresidentOn Father Boyd’s shoulders we stand as we continue his legacy
Twenty-years ago, I was working in the Financial Services in New York, and after a visit to Seton Hall, I mentioned that it would be wonderful to work in a place devoted to learning in a Catholic environment. My then 13-year-old son, simply remarked: “Well, just get a job at Seton Hall.” He made it sound so easy! So, we looked at all the positions open and the one that I felt would be of interest to me was the one at the Chesterton Institute.
I knew who Chesterton was, I had read some of his writings and the posting seemed intriguing. So, I applied in early June … the only thing is that the posting had been open for a few months. (I thought it had not been taken down, or that it was a position that was difficult to fill). I did not hear anything at all until September, when I received a call from the University asking for a time to meet.
By then, I had almost forgotten about the application but I gladly scheduled the interview. What was there to lose I thought … nothing!
However, I did not know then, that there would be everything to gain.
I had a lovely meeting with Father Boyd and a couple of other people and left. When my husband asked .. how did it go? I replied. I hope it went well but frankly; I have no idea! However, they were all very nice, Father Boyd was wonderful, he gave me a few Chesterton Reviews and if it does not work out, I will read more Chesterton.
Two or three weeks went by without hearing anything at all, until in mid-October, when Father Boyd called me directly to offer me the position. I immediately said yes! And I started 2 weeks later.
I had the great privilege and honor of working very closely with Father Boyd for just about 20 years knowing him without a doubt made an impact in my life. He was a great presence, not only physically at 6’4” but more importantly spiritually. His respect and regard for others, for fairness, for compassion; his great intelligence and intellect, his sense of humour and deep faith in God, in Our Lady, and the certainty that everything would be OK—changed my life and that of my family.
Father Boyd devoted his professional life to studying and promoting G. K. Chesterton—a work of a lifetime. For our Chesterton work, we travelled around Europe and South America as well as many other places—he was always received with joy and admiration—sometimes there would be a “welcoming committee” with a sign an all at a train station in Italy or at an airport in Argentina. Father Boyd was Chesterton’s modern Father Brown a great presence all over the world.
He received invitations to lecture from all over, he encouraged and inspired younger generations all over the world to read, study and live the Chestertonian way. He was the key for the Chesterton revival—for people to discover and/or rediscover Chesterton everywhere. The work of his Chesterton Institute and The Chesterton Review were a great source of pride and we are committed to continuing this work—as we stand on Father Boyd’s shoulders.
I always felt that Father Boyd had an angel on his shoulder looking after him. Regardless of the difficulties that he encountered due to his health, he always managed to bounce back. I used to tell him that to me he was the “bionic man” as he bounced back every time, with energy and enthusiasm. Although we know how fragile his health was, there was always the hope of him getting better. But knowing him, I know that he is now resting in peace, under the veil and protection of Our Lady and from there his spirit will guide us to continue his legacy for many years to come, as we now celebrate the 50th anniversary of the work he began.
On a personal level, I will always miss his nurturing nature, his great sense of humour— he was a great story and joke teller , his reciting poetry (which was amazing), his presence and the feeling that it was all going to be OK. … Oh! And our shared birthday celebration dinner every January 23!
I will be forever grateful for his mentoring, guidance, friendship, and the trust he deposited in me when he appointed me to be the Director of the Chesterton Institute.
I will always remember and treasure every Chestertonian adventure with Father Boyd adventures that always made a mark and changed people’s lives. He was respected, admired and beloved by all who he met.
Seton Hall University, the Chesterton Institute and the Chesterton Community around the world will very much miss the presence of a Holy Man.
Chesterton wrote that “joy is the gigantic secret of the Christian” and the very last sentence of the book reads: “There was some one thing that was too great for God to show us when He walked upon our earth; and I have sometimes fancied that it was His mirth.”
Father Boyd walked our earth with deep faith, joy and a mirth. I shall strive to do the same.
Gloria Garafulich-Grabois Director
We, at the Catholic Studies Department and Program lost a distinguished faculty member; a dear friend and a holy priest. Eternal memory Father Boyd.
We will continue your legacy.
Ines A. MurzakuProfessor
ofReligion Director, Catholic Studies Program and Founding Chair of the Department of Catholic Studies Seton Hall University
A reflection from Dermot Quinn
Father Ian Boyd’s death is a great sadness to his many friends across the world and, for those of us who worked closely with him in the Chesterton Institute, an enormous personal and professional loss. For fifty years, he was the indispensable man of a Chesterton revival that, even now, shows no signs of slowing. Founding and editing The Chesterton Review, creating and sustaining the Chesterton Institute, explaining and applying Chestertonian thinking in all its richness and versatility, delighting in Chesterton’s company and wishing to share it with others, he encouraged thousands of men and women, young and old alike, to rediscover in Chesterton a wisdom that Chesterton himself had discovered over a century ago. This multi-faceted work he did with boundless energy, sustained enthusiasm, enormous scholarship and good humor, and supreme indifference to his own comfort and safety – an astonishing achievement over half a century that is unlikely to be matched and never to be surpassed. It was a privilege to know him, to work with him, to call him a friend, to have been given a share in his extraordinary life. We will not see his like again.
Father Boyd’s intellectual gifts were matched by spiritual gifts equally remarkable. For all his brilliance as a teacher and scholar, for all academic genius, for all his visionary energy as a promoter of Christian orthodoxy, he was above all a very good and a very holy priest. His whole life was one of prayer, of constant intimacy with Our Lord and Our Lady, of beautiful friendship with the spiritual writers who meant so much to him. Nothing ever got in the way of his breviary, his rosary, his daily celebration of the Mass. Nothing took precedence over the interior life - the only life, in the end, that really matters. Father Boyd seemed to spend most of his time on the Mountain while the many of the rest of us remain on the Plain. He was halfway to heaven all his life, glimpsing beatitude and hoping to share in it. He will not present himself to the Lord as a stranger but as a friend.
Father Boyd’s many friends mourn his death while giving thanks for his life. They remember his inexhaustible kindness, generosity, and good humor. They marvel at his learning. They cherish his gentle wit. They treasure the memory of time spent in his company. They are astonished at all that he has done. Above all, they pray that this much-loved priest, selfless and self-giving, will now enjoy. the reward of his magnificent labors. May he rest in peace.
Above all, they pray that this much-loved priest, selfless and self-giving, will now enjoy the reward of his magnificent labors. May he rest in peace.
Dermot Quinn, D.Phil Professor of History Editor, The Chesterton Review Seton Hall University
Father Ian Boyd was a wonderful and unique person, a servant of God, a lover of literature, and a gentle and kind human being. I will never forget being one of several faculty in our CAST Foundations of Christian Culture course in Oxford, having the privilege of teaching with Fr. Boyd.
I have a lovely memory of Fr. Boyd taking my daughter (then in high school) and me to tea in Oxford, where we talked about her love of art and possibly majoring in it (which she did). He shared with her about Chesterton’s being an artist. He was gracious and kind and deeply interested in her and her plans for the future. I know this quality of focused and respectful charity for individuals made him a loved teacher and priest. It was a blessing to know him. May he rest in the arms of our Lord.
Nancy Enright, Ph.D. Director of the University Core Professor of English Seton Hall University
Sincere condolences. We will miss him.
Andrew W. Abela, Ph.D. Dean, Busch School of BusinessI am very sorry to learn the news about the death of Father Boyd. You know how greatly we admired his work and devotion to Chesterton.
The G. K. Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture will continue with his initiatives and great work with the two advocates it has as of now: Chesterton and Father Boyd.
Dr. Ma Isabel Abradelo de Usera. Associate Professor Faculty of Humanities and Communication Sciences CEU San Pablo Madrid, SpainMay he rest in peace.
Message from Lord Alton of Liverpool
I was traveling when I got the news about Fr. Boyd’s death. Just returned to my office now.
I know that he was your family and you were his. Please accept my sincere condolences.
I am grateful to have known him. He provided valuable spiritual nourishment to me in addition to all the great Chestertonian infusions. I first met him in 1990 at a Chesterton conference in Milwaukee. In 1996, I drove him from Milwaukee (another conference) to Minneapolis. I had just moved my family into a new home. He blessed the house for us. I’ll never forget that moment. It was still a year before I entered the Church. When I was received in 1997, he was one of the first people I called.
I only wish I could have heard one more Chesterton story from him. May he rest in peace.
Dale Ahlquist PresidentWe are stunned at the news of the death of dear Father Boyd.
How much do we owe, here in Chile and in Latin America, to his selfless work when sharing Chesterton.
Our prayers for him and for the Institute he founded, hoping that from heaven he can continue to inspire all of us who admire and follow him.
Jaime Antúnez Aldunate President of the Academy of Social, Political and Moral Sciences Instituto of ChileI am so deeply saddened to hear of Father Boyd’s passing.
I have no words, just the fondest of memories from the times I have met with Father Boyd.
May God's blessings and mercies be with him, his family and all of you at the Institute.
I will never forget his warmth and kindness...
Adjunct Professor Fashion Institute of Technology
A Farewell to Father Boyd from Otello Cenci and the Rimini Meeting
Addio a Father Ian Boyd, studioso eminente di Chesterton
Forse non tutti gli amici del Meeting avranno presente il suo nome, ma la nostra collaborazione con father Ian Boyd, fondatore del centro di studi cattolici G.K. Chesterton Institute of Faith & Culture, scomparso il 10 gennaio in Canada all’età di 89 anni, è alla base di alcuni spettacoli e mostre tra i più significativi delle ultime edizioni del Meeting.
Read the full story here:
Addio a father Ian Boyd, studioso eminente di Chesterton - Meeting di Rimini (meetingrimini.org)
Otello Cenci
Head of Performing Arts Division
Fondazione Meeting per l’amicizia fra I popoli Rimini, Italy
Message from the Chesterton Club, Universidad CEU San Pablo, Madrid
The Chesterton Club at Universidad CEU San Pablo (Angel Herrera Oria Cultural Foundation), deeply regrets the loss of one of the most important academic reference in the promotion of Chesterton in our time.
We will always be grateful to Father Boyd for his visits and support of our common task to promote Chesterton’s work in Spain. He visited us and gave lectures in our classrooms. His journal, The Chesterton Review, opened new avenues of dissemination of the thought of this author, who we venerate.
We pray that God welcomes Father Boyd and comensates him for the beautiful work he did during his life.
Fernando Lostao Director Angel Herrera Oria Cultural Foundation Isabel Abradelo & Pablo Gutierrez DirectorsChesterton Club, Universidad CEU San Pablo Madrid, Spain,
I would like to leave a tribute to Father Boyd on behalf of my husband, John Coates, who died in 2020. They had known each other since the 1980s and on several occasions Father Boyd came to stay with us when he was in the UK. John had the highest opinion of him, regarding him as a friend and mentor. I remember him as a warm, gentle and humorous man. May he rest in peace.
Carole Coates EnglandMy deepest condolences, also on behalf of the Centre d'Estudis i Documentació G. K. Chesterton in Barcelona, for the death of Fr Ian Boyd. He was for all of us a guide and an inspiration.
A recent paper was published in Catalunya Franciscana (September issue), in remembrance of his wisdom and deep understanding of Chesterton's stories of Father Brown.
Rest in peace.
Silvia Coll Vinent
Professor, Ramon Llul University
Centre d’Estudis I Documentació
G. K. Chesterton Barcelona, Spain
He is now in heaven where the Lord had predestined him to be. Long may his life serve to be of example to all those who use their minds and hearts and bodies for the welfare of our brotherhood of the Good Lord’s people!
Dr. John A. Consiglio, MaltaMessage from Ermanno Facheris
May you rest in peace . Most honourable father and professor
A great man has left us. He has left an enormous example as a person and an intellectual. A legacy as a pastor and professor.
May God have him in his Glory.
Faculty of Philosophy and the Humanities
Everybody has a story.
I'd often watch with some trepidation as Ian slowly raced the walk signal while crossing Jasper Avenue with his older sister, Betty. He stood 6'6 in his prime, but time cut him down to a stooped 6'2, and he trudged onward at a snail's pace. The old guy looked just about ready to be put out of his misery. But he possessed a refined grace that demanded further investigation. He wasn't prone to talk about himself at first. But he'd sometimes drop a hint at an interesting life packed with scholarly pursuits and world travels.
I finally asked what Ian's line of work was and discovered he was a retired Basilian priest. So I googled 'Father Ian Edmonton' and discovered he'd had a very interesting life indeed; the dictionary definition of a renaissance man. One fact I'd wager the obituary misses? Ian once actually slept in GK Chesterton's bed. GK had been dead for decades, so it wasn't too awkward, and Ian didn't have to share the covers. . At risk of boring a weary old man, I decided I was gonna pick this guy's brain every time we'd meet. I said I'd googled him and his eyes gleamed with just a hint of pride when told him about his Wikipedia page. When next we met, I bluffed my way through a brief conversation about literature. Ian mentioned he didn't have much stamina for reading anything substantial these days. He was almost too embarrassed to admit he'd been rereading Josephine Tey's mysteries. Like such light reading would be beneath me. I didn't admit that the last book I'd read was illustrated.
I had to help Ian up as he went on his way which took some doing as the guy was dead weight. It occurred right then that we probably wouldn't be having many more conversations and I thought I should say something. What, I don't know. "Thanks for taking the time to talk" would have sufficed, but I just offered the usual, "take care.” Maybe a week later, close to Christmas, I ran into Ian's sister (who has lived quite the life herself), and she gave me 7 Josephine Tey mysteries from Ian. Well, they were Ian's books, but a gift from Betty as he didn't think I should waste my time with such trifles. And Ian wasn't up to going out, so she was delivering them.
Death takes its time until it makes up its mind, and I never saw Father Ian Boyd again to thank him in person. Or tell him how much making his acquaintance meant to me. Ian left this world January 10th, 2024, at the age of 88.
I don't share his faith, not even the size of a mustard seed. But I'm not blind to divinity when it's staring me in the face. The best witnesses are the kinds of people who live their faith-whose faith is so intrinsically intertwined you can't tell where flesh and bone ends and the divine begins. This was how Father Ian Boyd and his sister Betty touched me.
He lived his faith, and he left his mark in life and, now, the hereafter. Looking back on those slow motion races against the traffic light, I had it all wrong. Ian wasn't a tired old man waiting for death's sweet release; he was God's faithful servant ready to go home.
Kevin Gibson Edmonton, Alberta CanadaMessage from Pasquale Giustiniani
Requiescat in pace
Mi associo al coro unanime di condoglianze e preghiere per il p. Fondatore.
Professor Pasquale Giustiniani Facoltà teologica san Tommaso, Napoli, Italy
Message from Tim
GeogleinHe was a wonderful, priest, friend, academic and a pioneer in the Chesterton revival in the US and around the world. He is greatly missed.
Tim Goeglein Vice President Focus on the Family
A great loss. We trust that he is already next to our Lord.
He left a great deal. He was a tireless worker. An example for everyone
Pablo Gutiérrez Carreras Director, Campus Life Universidad CEU San Pablo Madrid, SpainIt is very sad to hear of the passing of Father Boyd, who was very dear to me. He was my professor for Catholicism & Literature at Seton Hall University. I attended many events where he was the speaker, as well as hearing his lectures on two Oxford trips.
One time when he was on his way to President's Hall he invited me to a private Mass he was saying, and so it was just him and me in the little chapel.
When I was in China, he offered a Mass for my family and me to make it back to the US safely. He will be dearly missed. May he rest in the Lord's peace.
James HarrisI was sad to hear of the passing of Fr. Boyd. I first knew of him in my GKC studies and then met him at a conference in Asbury College in 2003. I met him on the sidewalk after a late evening session and he gave kind counsel about life.
I grew up and remain somewhat sectarian Protestant though I have enjoyed an education larger than that, not least through studying GKC. Engaging with Father Boyd at the conference and in a few emails in later years will always be a special memory in my life. I hope to see him again someday.
Randy HuffSad to learn of Father Bord's passing. Prayers are offered in His name during this difficult time to the Seton Hall Community.
Amen.
Christopher M. HolleranI mourn the passing of Father Ian Boyd. His influence through the journal he founded, The Chesterton Review, has been a benediction for me since I received my first copy through the mail in 1995, and I have kept every edition of all the 29 years since. I met him at the memorable conference about Joseph Mitchell at Seton Hall in 2006. I only spoke with him a few times during the following 18 years, and always appreciated the lectures he gave and the discussions at the Saints and Sleuths programs that I attended. I especially recall with thanks his patient editing of my essay about The Man Who Was Thursday that was published in The Chesterton Review, vol. XXXXI, Nos. 1 & 2, in 2015.
Father Boyd typified the "great priest...who kept the law of the Most High," and also is an exemplar of the definition of a gentleman outlined by John Henry Newman in The Idea of a University (Discourse VIII, sec.10).
I give my condolences to each member of his family, to Gloria Garafulich-Grabois and to Dermot Quinn.
Therese of Lisieux said she would spend her Heaven doing good on earth, and I'm sure Father Boyd would have the same intention. Is this too much to hope for?
To adapt a prayer for Confessors in the old missals:
Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that by showing gratitude for the gifts we have received, we may by his intercession, obtain yet greater benefits.”
Donald Lospinuso New YorkI was very sorry to hear of the passing of Father Ian. I had the great pleasure of attending the 5:00 pm Sunday Masses at St. Andrew’s for the last several months. I truly enjoyed his homilies. He was so knowledgeable and the homilies were so thought-provoking. I look forward to them each week.
I am so grateful and blessed that I had the opportunity to be at Father Ian’s Masses. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.
God Bless!
Doris Reeve Edmonton, Alberta, CanadaRequiescat in pace
Message from Kari Riess
Kari Riess PressIt was with great sadness that I learned of Father Boyd's death especially coming so soon after the deaths of the Jesuit Fathers Paul Mankowski and Joseph Koterski. Such holy and learned men are a great loss for the Church and for scholarship.
Father Boyd spoke to The New York C.S. Lewis Society on "Sacramental Mysticism in Chesterton and Lewis." I had the great pleasure and privilege of enjoying a supper with Father Boyd on that evening before the start of the Society's meeting. He later dedicated an entire issue of The Chesterton Review to C.S. Lewis.
Our loss is heaven's gain. May he rest in the loving arms of our Lord.
Hearing only a few hours ago of the death of Fr. Boyd, I wanted to write to you both with words of condolence and the promise of prayers. I know how closely and faithfully you supported him throughout the years on the great apostolate of bringing Chesterton to a scholarly and international audience.
I greatly enjoyed my own friendship with Father, being privileged to welcome him to Australia on his visits, including offering him hospitality at our Armidale home in the New England region of New South Wales, and also sharing the wonderful visit with you all to Buenos Aires for the conference in 2006. More recently, I’ve continued to have contact with him, at times directly but most often via his sister Betty.
When Father retired several years ago, I wrote a tribute to him in our Australian quarterly, The Defendant (Summer 2021). Father contributed some generous words on the 25th anniversary of the Australian Chesterton Society’s founding (Summer 2019).
Karl Schmude President Australian Chesterton SocietyAnyone who studies the work of G. K. Chesterton seriously owes an incalculable debt to Father Ian Boyd. At a time when scholarly interest in Chesterton was almost extinct, Father Boyd went "against the stream," and founded The Chesterton Review, convinced that Chesterton's reputation could be revived and restored by the rigorous study of his life and work. His example as a scholar (especially in his pioneering The Novels of G. K. Chesterton) and editor inspired and encouraged thoughtful attention to Chesterton and his milieu in a way that seemed fanciful in 1974.
Father Boyd's commitment to scholarship combined with great personal generosity to emerging scholars. For instance, when I first met Father Boyd at a Chesterton conference in 1994, I happened to mention that I was working on the thought of Christopher Dawson as well. Father immediately invited me to visit St. Thomas More college, which then housed Dawson's library and personal papers, and arranged for me to stay with the Basilian community there for nearly a month. His kindness to a young doctoral candidate made possible research that I have drawn on for my entire career. My experience of his charity is hardly exceptional.
Finally, Father Boyd modeled the integration of faith and reason that Chesterton upheld so forcefully. As a priest, one sensed both deep reflection and profound faith. His celebrations of the Mass were models of holiness and deep care for the encounter with Christ that he was mediating. All who knew him will thus be confident in our prayers for his eternal rest after a life of faithful learning and loving service.
Adam Schwartz Professor of History Christendom CollegeMy condolences on the passing away of Fr. Boyd. I'm sure he's already in the presence of our Father, forever.
I keep praying for him, for you, and for the Institute..
Eduardo Segura Granada, SpainSince I received the news about our dear Father Boyd, I have kept him in my prayers. I am grateful for everything we did together.
May he rest in the peace of our Lord who is always generous with his servants. May he receive the joy of His vision.
Father AntonioSpadaro
Undersecretary for the Dicastery for Culture and EducationVatican City
I am much saddened to learn of Fr Boyd’s death. He was an example as a priest, editor, and scholar, without which G.K. Chesterton’s work would not have come to worldwide attention. May his work continue in the safe hands of the Institute that he created, and may he rest in peace.
Please accept my condolences on the loss of an inspirational friend and colleague.
Dr.Julia Stapleton
I met Father Boyd in the early 90s when a group of magazine and journal editors and contributors were contemplating a joint statement that was subsequently issued as “The Civilization of Love: The Pope’s Call to the West.”
I think our little group met two or three times, and during that time Fr. Boyd asked me if I would like to contribute book reviews to The Chesterton Review. That I have been doing ever since, with occasional articles added on.
Father Boyd was always a more than generous friend and colleague and I recall with great fondness the many times we got together during his visits to the Washington, D.C. area, at the meetings of the Review's editorial board at Seton Hall and when he attended the 2009 distributist/capitalist/socialist debate at Nassau Community College on Long Island.
Father Boyd has unquestionably done more to make known the thought and writings of Chesterton than any other man - and if only for that, the Church and the world owe him a huge debt.
May he rest in Christ's peace
Thomas Storck Member, Editorial Board The Chesterton ReviewTribute from Dr. Ewa Thompson
So sorry to hear of Father Boyd’s demise. May his noble efforts to make us all learn from G.K. Chesterton bring much fruit.
Ewa ThompsonWe send some photos of the first time in Italy 2008 Father Boyd came to Verona. United with ours prayers,
Memories of Father Boyd’s 2008 visit to Verona, Italy
On Sunday June 15, 2008 in Verona (Italy), near SS. Apostles Church, an important event took place with the contribution of Father Jan Boyd, C.S.B., President of the G.K. Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture and Editor of The Chesterton Review at Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey (USA). The Italian cultural event was entitled: “Chesterton: l’Ortodossia del buonumore” (“Chesterton: the Orthodoxy of humour”). News on the event was published on national mass-media (particularly appreciated articles appeared in the catholic newspaper “Avvenire”).
Organized by publisher Faith & Culture with the cooperation of the Verona Chestertonian Groups and the Italian Chesterton Society the meeting was presented by Fabio Trevisan (Vice President of Faith & Culture) and Roberto Prisco (Founder of the Verona Chestertonian Groups). Mons. Giancarlo Grandis (Vice Bishop for Culture in Verona and very fond of Rosmini’s works) made a short introduction and publicly thanked Father Boyd.
Father Boyd’s essay (“Chesterton and Orthodoxy: Legends and Realities”) was translated into Italian by Hadley Taylor, a Veronese Chestertonian friend, while excerpts of a written translation were simultaneously projected on a large screen. Previously, Avv. Marco Sermarini (President of the Italian Chesterton Society) had warmly welcomed Father Boyd and Dr. Giovanni Zenone (President of Faith & Culture) offered to Father Boyd a gift as a memory of Verona ( a bas-relief of the great door of the Basilica in Verona dedicated to S. Zeno).
The essay from Father Boyd was appreciated by numerous people attending the event in the Auditorium behind the antique SS. Apostles Church, above all, by Chestertonian fans.
Personally, I appreciated that passage which could unite Chesterton’s Sacramental faith in the Incarnation with his Edwardian soul.
In fact, Father Boyd was able to show how the fighter for Christian Orthodoxy and the gentle Edwardian imaginative artists are indeed a single person who is well worth knowing.
After Father Boyd’s brilliant speech, Dr. Paolo Gulisano (Vice President of the Italian Chesterton Society and writer), shed light on the relation between Chesterton and Belloc and finally Dr. Alessandro Gnocchi (writer and journalist), outlined a deep comparison between Chesterton and Guareschi. Giovannino Guareschi was the creator of the famous “Don Camillo e Peppone” series (films known all over the world). Guareschi is also called “Italian Chesterton.”
During the tour in Verona, we went to Saint Giovanni Calabria’s House, where Father Boyd visited the Church, the tomb and the museum of the great Charity’s Saint and in which all the letters and documents between S. Giovanni Calabria and Clive Staples Lewis are preserved.
Another important visit was at the “Madonna del Frassino” Sanctuary in Peschiera, near Lago di Garda, the largest lake in Italy. This Sanctuary, also called “the Queen of the Lake,” is managed by Franciscan Fathers.
Thank you, Father Boyd, for your precious faith and humanity.
Thank you for your intelligent and deep reflection.
Fabio Trevisan Verona, ItalyI was saddened to hear of the recent demise of Fr. Ian Boyd. I was privileged to have got to know him.
I first came across his splendid publication of The Chesterton Review some thirty years ago. I was given issues of the early nineties by a Jesuit librarian, Fr. Anthony Sapienza SJ who had taught me English in 1955. At the time, little did I expect that I would meet Father Boyd who would generously accept to come over to Malta to hold a conference on Chesterton.
He was invited here by my friend, the legendary Maltese journalist John Micallef in 2012.
Sadly John died in February of the same year, and I ended up organising the conference with the help of Adrian Porter in May 2012.
We were privileged to have two other conferences in Malta and thus also meet up with Prof. Dermot Quinn and Gloria Garafulich-Grabois.
I can only heap praise on Fr. Boyd who committed himself to promoting the Faith through the study of the much neglected Catholic convert and apologist G. K. Chesterton.
Catholics owe a huge debt to Father Boyd for his scholarship and dedication in making Chesterton widely known.
I am confident that his life’s work will keep on generating a rich harvest through the G. K. Chesterton Institute of Faith & Culture.
I extend my condolences to his family, colleagues and close collaborators, especially Dermot and Gloria.
IN THE NEWS
IN THE NEWS
Seton Hall University— In Memoriam
G.K. Chesterton scholar Fr. Ian Boyd dies at age 88 (aleteia.org)
Father Ian Boyd, CSB – Requiescat in Pace – Post Eagle Newspaper
STM mourns passing of Rev. Ian Boyd, international scholar of G.K. Chesterton - St. Thomas More College (stmcollege.ca)
https://caedm.ca/basilian-priest-father-ian-boyd-was-international-scholar-of-g-kchesterton/
https://alleanzacattolica.org/i-gemelli-da-polso-di-don-ian-boyd/
The Cufflinks of Fr. Ian Boyd (1935–2024) ~ The Imaginative Conservative
https://conservativeangle.com/the-cufflinks-of-fr-ian-boyd-1935-2024/
https://www.davidwarrenonline.com/2024/01/13/father-boyd/
Addio a father Ian Boyd, studioso eminente di Chesterton - Meeting di Rimini (meetingrimini.org)
Grazie, Padre Ian! — L’eredita del grande Chesterton
Special TV Programme presented by Fede & Cultura Universitas
Hosts: Fabio Trevisan & Giovani Zenone
YouTube: Grazie, Padre Ian! - L'eredità del grande Chesterton - YouTube
