Alice von Hildebrand

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Alice von Hildebrand
GCSG
Born
Alice Marie Jourdain

( 1923-03-11 ) 11 March 1923
Brussels , Belgium
Died 14 January 2022 (2022-01-14) (aged 98)
New Rochelle, New York , U.S.
Alma mater
Occupation(s) Philosopher, theologian, professor, author
Employer Hunter College
Spouse
​
​
( m.  1959; died 1977) ​

Alice Marie von Hildebrand , GCSG [1] (nee Jourdain ; 11 March 1923 ? 14 January 2022) was a Belgian-born American Catholic philosopher, theologian, author, and professor. She taught philosophy at Hunter College for 37 years. She was also the second wife of Dietrich von Hildebrand .

Early life [ edit ]

Von Hildebrand was born Alice Marie Jourdain to Henri and Marthe (van der Horst) Jourdain in Brussels , Belgium, on 11 March 1923. [1] [2] [3] Her first language was French. She left her home country in 1940, shortly after it was invaded by Germany , and relocated to the United States as a refugee. [4] She initially attended Manhattanville College , [4] before studying philosophy at Fordham University , [2] where she obtained a doctorate in 1949. [4]

Career [ edit ]

Von Hildebrand struggled to find employment in academia. She was rejected by Catholic colleges, who informed her that they did not employ women to teach philosophy. [4] She eventually started teaching at Hunter College ? a constituent college of the City University of New York ? in 1947. [1] She utilized her maiden name due to the hostility endured by her husband. She only received academic tenure after 14 years of teaching. [2] Despite being advised by the college president (and fellow Catholic) George N. Shuster that she would be more content teaching at a Catholic institution, she was of the opinion that it was essential for a Catholic to be present at a secular educational institution. She ultimately remained at Hunter College for 37 years. She attributed the conversion of many of her students to Catholicism with her teaching of objective truth . [4] [5]

Von Hildebrand retired early in 1984, [1] having grown weary of being issued a teaching schedule that concluded at 10 pm. [2] She was subsequently conferred the Presidential Award for excellence in teaching by the college. [4] [5] Von Hildebrand made more than 80 appearances on EWTN television programming. [1] She launched the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project in 2004 with some of her husband's former students. [1] Her works include The Soul of a Lion: The Life of Dietrich von Hildebrand (2000), a biography of her husband, [6] and her autobiography, Memoirs of a Happy Failure (2014), which recounts her escape from Nazi Europe and her teaching career at Hunter College. [7]

Views [ edit ]

Von Hildebrand criticized what she considered to be the advance of relativism [7] and modernism in the Catholic Church , [2] particularly within its institutions of Catholic higher education and its Catholic schools . Hildebrand held conservative Catholic views on homosexuality, saying that it "constitutes a grave offense to God and brings great moral harm to the persons engaging in it", and arguing that those with "homosexual tendencies" should practice celibacy. [8] She was also an outspoken critic of feminism. [9]

Personal life [ edit ]

Von Hildebrand married Catholic philosopher and theologian Dietrich von Hildebrand in 1959, two years after his first wife died. They first met at Fordham University, where she was a student and he was a professor. She later worked as his secretary and collaborated with him on authoring books, [1] [2] such as The Art of Living . [4] They did not have children together, [4] and remained married until his death in 1977. [10]

Von Hildebrand was created a Dame of Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great , a papal order of knighthood, in October 2013. [11] She died on 14 January 2022 at her home in New Rochelle , New York . She was 98, and suffered a brief illness prior to her death. [4] [5]

Bibliography [ edit ]

  • Greek Culture, the Adventure of the Human Spirit , editor (G. Braziller, 1966) ISBN   978-0-8076-0366-6
  • Introduction to a Philosophy of Religion (Franciscan Herald Press, 1970) [12]
  • By Love Refined: Letters to a Young Bride (Sophia Institute Press, 1989) ISBN   978-1-62282-889-0
  • Women and the Priesthood (Franciscan University Press, 1994) ISBN   978-0-940535-72-5
  • By Grief Refined: Letters to a Widow (Franciscan University Press, 1994) ISBN   978-0-940535-75-6
  • Memoiren und Aufsatze gegen den Nationalsozialismus, 1933?1938 , with Dietrich von Hildebrand and Rudolf Ebneth, ( Matthias-Grunewald-Verlag , 1994) ISBN   978-3-7867-1737-9
  • Soul of a Lion: Dietrich Von Hildebrand; A Biography (Ignatius Press, 2000) ISBN   978-0-89870-801-1
  • The Privilege of Being a Woman (Veritas Press, 2002) ISBN   978-0-9706106-7-6
  • Man and Woman: A Divine Invention (Ignatius Press, 2010) ISBN   978-1-932589-56-6
  • Memoirs of a Happy Failure , with John Henry Crosby (Saint Benedict Press, 2014) ISBN   978-1-618901-26-2

References [ edit ]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Alice von Hildebrand" . Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019 . Retrieved 14 April 2018 .
  2. ^ a b c d e f Cook, Kimberly (15 January 2022). "True Femininity: An Interview with Alice von Hildebrand" . Crisis . Archived from the original on 5 March 2022 . Retrieved 18 January 2022 .
  3. ^ Risen, Clay (5 March 2022). "Alice von Hildebrand, Conservative Catholic Philosopher, Dies at 98" . The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 5 March 2022 .
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Burger, John (14 January 2022). "Alice von Hildebrand, Catholic philosopher and critic of moral relativism, dies at 98" . Aleteia . Archived from the original on 14 January 2022 . Retrieved 18 January 2022 .
  5. ^ a b c Olivera, Kate (14 January 2022). "A joyful, faithful 'warrior': Catholic philosopher, author Alice von Hildebrand dies at 98" . EWTN. Catholic News Agency. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022 . Retrieved 18 January 2022 .
  6. ^ von Hildebrand, Alice (2000). The Soul of a Lion: Dietrich Von Hildebrand ? a Biography . Ignatius Press. ISBN   978-0-89870-801-1 . Archived from the original on 18 January 2022 . Retrieved 18 January 2022 .
  7. ^ a b Hildebrand, Alice von; Crosby, John Henry (2014). Memoirs of a Happy Failure . Saint Benedictine Press. ISBN   978-1-61890-126-2 . Archived from the original on 3 September 2019 . Retrieved 14 April 2018 .
  8. ^ "True Compassion for the Person with Homosexual" . Alice von Hildebrand . Retrieved 11 May 2023 .
  9. ^ Graves, Jim (27 September 2020). "Alice von Hildebrand on the Lost Sense of the Supernatural and Feminism" . National Catholic Register . Archived from the original on 18 January 2022 . Retrieved 18 January 2022 .
  10. ^ Salai, Sean (22 October 2014). "The Philosopher Who Defied Hitler: Q&A with Alice von Hildebrand" . America . Archived from the original on 18 January 2022 . Retrieved 18 January 2022 .
  11. ^ "Pope names Alice von Hildebrand to prestigious order" . Catholic News Agency . 6 November 2013. Archived from the original on 23 March 2020 . Retrieved 23 March 2020 .
  12. ^ von Hildebrand, Alice (1970). Introduction to a Philosophy of Religion . Franciscan Herald Press. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022 . Retrieved 18 January 2022 .

External links [ edit ]

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