Friar

Louis Vitale

OFM
Friar
Vitale demonstrating against weaponized drones just before being arrested at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada c. 2010 to 2012
DioceseSanta Barbara, San Francisco
Personal details
Born(1932-06-01)June 1, 1932
San Gabriel, California, U.S.
DiedSeptember 6, 2023(2023-09-06) (aged 91)
Oakland, California, U.S.
DenominationCatholic
OccupationFriar of the Franciscan order
Alma materLoyola, PhD UCLA

Louis Vitale, OFM, (June 1, 1932 – September 6, 2023) was an American Franciscan friar, peace activist, and a co-founder of Nevada Desert Experience.[1] His religious beliefs led him to participate in civil disobedience actions at peace demonstrations and acts of religious witness over 40 years. In the name of peace, Vitale has been arrested more than 400 times.[2][3][4] Vitale stated that Francis of Assisi, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. provided him with inspiration.[2][5]

Early life and education

Louis Vitale was born on June 1, 1932, in San Gabriel, California.[6] His family operated a lucrative fish processing business.[7] After graduating in 1954 from Loyola University, now Loyola Marymount University,[5] Vitale enlisted in the US Air Force. Vitale's main role in the Air Force was that of an intercept officer, in charge of radio communications.[3] Vitale took his vows as a Franciscan friar in 1960 when he was 28 years old.[5] He was awarded a PhD for original research in sociology in September 1972, from University of California, Los Angeles.[2] From 1979 to 1988, Vitale served as the provincial superior of the Franciscan Friars of the Province of St. Barbara. He served as the pastor at St. Boniface Catholic Church for 12 years in the Tenderloin of San Francisco, California.[8]

Pace e Bene

Louis Vitale was one of the founders of Pace e Bene, a nonviolence service, in 1989.[9] The name means Peace and all good. Other founders included: Sr. Rosemary Lynch, Alain Richard, Peter Ediger and Julia Occhiogrosso[[10]], who were all experienced peace activists.[3][8] Pace e Bene developed educational programs for nonviolent living with an emphasis on spirituality.[11][9][12] In 2005, Pace e Bene published a book, Engage,[9] which described Pace e Bene's programs. The programs, as described in the book, were designed to encourage "the discovery, internalization and use of the power of nonviolence for personal and social change".[9][11] Hundreds of nonviolence study groups were organized by Pace e Bene between 1989 and 2010.[8][13]

Nevada Desert Experience

In 1981, Vitale received a letter from Rome asking Franciscans to do something creative in 1982 to honor the 800th anniversary of the birth of St. Francis. Vitale took this to heart.[14] The First Nevada Lenten Experience was held at the Nevada test site,[14] a series of witness and protest actions held at the atomic bomb test site near Las Vegas, Nevada. This was the precursor to the Nevada Desert Experience.[14] Louis Vitale with Anne Bucher, Michael Affleck, Duncan MacMurdy, and two Franciscan friars, Ed Dunn and Terry Symens, founded the Nevada Desert Experience in 1984.[14][15] Over the years, Corbin Harney and the Shundahai Network[16] worked with NDE, holding many protests of the government's continued nuclear weapons work. NDE worked with Corbin Harney[14] in protests against establishing a repository for radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, 100 mi (160 km) from Las Vegas.[17]

Arrests and protests

Louis Vitale, Megan Rice, Jim Haber at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, 2008.

Vitale participated in numerous protests and was arrested hundreds of times. Examples include:

Death

Louis Vitale died in Oakland, California, on September 6, 2023, at the age of 91.[30]

Awards and recognition

See also

Books

Wittner, Lawrence S, Confronting the Bomb 2009 Stanford University Press[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Wittner, Lawrence S. (2009-05-12). Confronting the bomb : a short history of the world nuclear disarmament movement. Stanford, Calif. ISBN 9780804771245. OCLC 469186910.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. 1 2 3 "Protesting priest's path leads repeatedly to jail". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2009-04-12. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  3. 1 2 3 4 McGee, Max (14 May 2019). "Evangelization of Peace: The Radical Life of Father Louis Vitale". Nations. Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  4. 1 2 Riegle, Rosalie G. (2013). Crossing the line : nonviolent resisters speak out for peace. Eugene, Or.: Cascade Books. ISBN 9781610976831. OCLC 825735867.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Paddock, Richard C. (9 April 2009). "His spirit won't be confined Pursuing evangelization of peace". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 18 July 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  6. ↑ "Parish Newsletter, June 5, 2022" (PDF). St. Joachim and St. John the Evangelist's Church, Beacon, New York. June 5, 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2023. Social Justice Corner -- Father Louis Vitale OFM, was born 90 years ago this week (June 1, 1932) in San Gabriel, California. He is a Franciscan priest, activist, and a co-founder of Nevada Desert Experience....
  7. ↑ Smith, John L. (13 April 2009). "Life of crime standing up for peace has landed 'Father Louie' in many jails". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Dear, John (2013-09-15). The nonviolent life. Pace e Bene Franciscan Nonviolence Center (Las Vegas, Nev.). Long Beach, CA. ISBN 978-0966978322. OCLC 868026801.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. 1 2 3 4 Slattery, Laura (2005). Engage : exploring nonviolent living. Oakland: Pace e Bene Press. ISBN 0966978315. OCLC 64179247.
  10. ↑ https://paceebene.org/our-team
  11. 1 2 Butigan, Ken (1999). From violence to wholeness. Bruno, Patricia. Las Vegas, Nev. ISBN 0966978307. OCLC 43326283.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  12. ↑ Preston-Pile, Cindy (2006). Traveling with the turtle : a small group process in women's spirituality and peacemaking. Woodward, Irene. Oakland, CA: Pace e Bene Press. ISBN 9780966978377. OCLC 84622237.
  13. ↑ "Notre Dame de Namur University's Catholic Scholar Series with Father Louie Vitale, O.F.M." Notre Dame de Namur University. 17 March 2009. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Butigan, Ken (2003). Pilgrimage through a burning world : spiritual practice and nonviolent protest at the Nevada Test Site. Nevada Desert Experience (Organization). Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 1417506695. OCLC 55205572.
  15. ↑ Epstein, Barbara (1991). Political protest and cultural revolution : nonviolent direct action in the 1970s and 1980s. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 9780520914469. OCLC 44965693.
  16. ↑ "Our Founder, Corbin Harney Dies July 2007". Shundahai Network. July 2007. Archived from the original on 2010-04-20.
  17. ↑ Harney, Corbin (2009). The nature way. Purbrick, Alex (1st ed.). Reno: University of Nevada Press. ISBN 9780874178043. OCLC 489213600.
  18. ↑ "Trinity House Catholic Worker Newsletter". Archived from the original on 2013-08-05.
  19. 1 2 "The Nevada Desert Experience:: Ft. Huachuca Torture Protest Update". nevadadesertexperience.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  20. ↑ Effron, Lauren (17 March 2012). "US celebrities arrested crusading for causes". ABC News. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  21. ↑ Leys, Jeff (April 10, 2009). "Resisting the Afghanistan - Pakistan War". Voices for Creative Nonviolence (VCNV.org). Archived from the original on April 7, 2011.
  22. 1 2 Hartsough, David. Waging peace : global adventures of a lifelong activist. Hollyday, Joyce. Oakland, CA. p. 187. ISBN 1322063133. OCLC 888349175.
  23. ↑ "Trinity Nuclear Abolition News Release" (PDF).
  24. ↑ Joyce, Bill (26 February 2016). "Love is what matters". Oakland Voices. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019.
  25. ↑ Walter, Nicolas (25 August 2009). "Two arrested at base protest arrests mark another successful missile launch at Vandenberg". Santa Maria Sun. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  26. ↑ "Gaza protest planned on Cast Lead anniversary". Egypt Independent. Archived from the original on 2012-07-30.
  27. ↑ HNP Communications (23 February 2011). "St. Barbara Province to Honor Activist Louis Vitale". Franciscan Friars of the Holy Name. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  28. ↑ Toplikar, Dave (27 January 2011). "'Creech 14' found guilty of trespassing, judge says 'go in peace'". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  29. ↑ Benjamin, Medea (13 August 2012). "At Drone Convention Zero tolerance for peace". Global Exchange. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018.
  30. ↑ "Louis Vitale, Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace, presente! 1932-2023". Pax Christi USA. 7 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  31. 1 2 "Lifetime Achievement Award To Pace e Bene Co-Founder Louie Vitale". Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service. 18 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-10-19. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  32. ↑ Lanuza, Magda (Fall 2010). "Faith communities stand with immigrants" (PDF). Network Connection. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
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