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{{Short description|Indian Jesuit priest and psychotherapist}}
{{for|the cricket administrator|Anthony de Mello (cricket administrator)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = The Reverend
| name = Anthony de Mello
| honorific_suffix = [[Jesuits|SJ]]
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1931|09|4}}
| birth_place = [[Bombay]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1987|6|2|1931|9|4}}
| death_place = [[New York, New York]]
| occupation = [[Jesuit]] [[Catholic priesthood|priest]], author
| spouse =
| known_for = Spiritual writings and teachings<br />[[Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola|Ignatian spirituality]]
}}
 
'''Anthony "Tony" de Mello''', [[Jesuits|SJ]] (4 September 1931&nbsp;– 2 June 1987), was an Indian [[Jesuit]] priest and [[psychotherapist]]. A spiritual teacher, writer, and public speaker, de Mello wrote several books on spirituality and hosted numerous [[Retreat (spiritual)|spiritual retreats]] and conferences. He continues to be known for his storytelling, which drew from the various [[Mysticism|mystical]] traditions of both East and West.
[[Image:Anthony de Mello priest.jpg|frame|Book authored by the priest.]]
'''Anthony de Mello''' (4 September 1931, [[Bombay]], [[India]] - 2 June 1987, [[New York]]) was a [[Jesuit]] [[Catholic priesthood|priest]] and [[psychotherapist]] who became widely known for his books on [[spirituality]]. He hosted many spiritual retreats and was considered by some a gifted [[public speaker]]. He traveled to many countries to study and later to teach, most notably [[Spain]] and the [[United States]].
 
== Beginnings ==
De Mello established a prayer center in India. He died suddenly in 1987. His works are still in print and additional writings were published after his death.
De Mello was the oldest of five children born to Frank and Louisa (née Castellino) de Mello. He was born in [[Bombay]], [[British Raj|British India]], on 4 September 1931.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P4qCXtwqa1gC | title=Anthony Demello SJ: The Happy Wanderer | publisher=[[Orbis Books]] | author=de Mello, Bill | year=2013 | page=8 | isbn=978-1-62698-020-4}}</ref> He was raised in a Catholic family and dreamed of one day joining the Jesuit order.
 
At the age of 16, de Mello entered the [[Society of Jesus]] at the seminary of Vinalaya on the outskirts of Bombay. In 1952, he was sent to Spain to study philosophy in Barcelona before undertaking ministry. He then returned to India to study theology at De Nobili College in Pune and was ordained to the priesthood in March 1961. After his return to India, he spent several years working in seminaries, and in 1968 he was made rector of the seminary of Vinalaya.<ref name="teachers">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6tbYHJFej2UC&pg=PA344|title=Teachers of Wisdom|author=Kononenko, Igor|publisher=[[Dorrance Publishing Co.|Dorrance Publishing]]|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4349-5410-7|page=344}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.jesuit.ie/who-are-the-jesuits/inspirational-jesuits/anthony-de-mello/|title=Anthony de Mello - Jesuits Ireland|date=31 May 2017|work=Jesuits Ireland|access-date=19 October 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>
In 1998, some of his opinions were condemned by the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]]. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who later became [[Pope Benedict XVI]], wrote for the Congregation:
 
De Mello was first attracted to the Jesuits for their strict discipline. Those who knew him during his earlier years in the order described him as somewhat conservative in his theology and reluctant to explore other religions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cta-usa.org/conf2001talks.html#nazareth|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221145640/http://www.cta-usa.org/conf2001talks.html#nazareth|archivedate=21 February 2009|title=Here and Now with Anthony De Mello|author=Nazareth, Malcolm}}</ref> Some of his peers noted that his experience in Spain led him to broaden his perspective and to lose much of his rigidity.<ref name=":1" />
: '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.' <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDFDEMEL.HTM|title=EWTN Global Catholic Network|accessdate=2006-11-24}}</ref>
 
== Work ==
His quite controversial paradigm for Catholic dogma is mainly because many of his ideas were influenced by [[Thailand|Thai]] [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] teacher and founder of monasteries [[Ajahn Chah]] - who, some{{Fact|date=September 2008}} say, was a kind of teacher to him. Despite the Church's condemnation, his works are popular especially among those interested in [[St. Ignatius Loyola|Ignatian Spirituality]].
In 1972, he founded the Institute of Pastoral Counselling, later renamed the Sadhana Institute of Pastoral Counselling, in [[Poona, India]].<ref name="teachers" /><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZReDL_16NAMC&pg=PA274|title=Handbook of Spirituality for Ministers, Volume 1|author=Wicks, Robert J.|author-link=Robert J. Wicks|publisher=[[Paulist Press]]|year=1994|isbn=978-0-8091-3521-9|page=274}}</ref> De Mello's first published book, ''Sadhana – A Way to God'', was released in 1978. It outlined a number of spiritual principles and "Christian exercises in [[eastern philosophy|Eastern]] form" inspired by the teachings of [[Ignatius of Loyola|Saint Ignatius]].<ref name="America Magazine">{{Cite news|url=https://www.americamagazine.org/content/all-things/anthony-de-mello-be-aware-be-alive-be-love|title=Anthony De Mello: Be Aware! Be Alive! Be in Love!|date=25 February 2010|work=America Magazine|access-date=16 December 2017|language=en}}</ref> It popularized various mindfulness and contemplative practices in the United States for his readers and for those who attended his lectures.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d0ssbVRwudEC&pg=PA113 | title=An Ignatian Spirituality Reader | publisher=[[Loyola Press]] | editor=Traub, George W. | year=2008 | page=113 | isbn=978-0-8294-2723-3}}</ref>
 
== Death ==
Some editions of his books have since been supplemented with the insertion of a caution:
De Mello died of a [[heart attack]] in 1987, aged 55, in [[New York City]].<ref>[http://users.tpg.com.au/adsligol/tony/tony1.html Biography, by Bill deMello] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324014959/http://users.tpg.com.au/adsligol/tony/tony1.html |date=24 March 2012 }}</ref> Bill De Mello, a brother of Tony's, recounts in his book ''Anthony deMello: The Happy Wanderer'' that Tony's body was found by Fr. Frank Stroud, S.J. According to Fr. Stroud, de Mello's body was curled up in a fetal position.<ref>{{Cite book|last=DeMello|first=Bill|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RqCNAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT24|title=Anthony Demello SJ: The Happy Wanderer|date=2013|publisher=Orbis Books|isbn=978-1-60833-286-1|language=en}}</ref> His official death certificate lists the immediate cause of his death as "Atherosclerotic coronary artery disease with recent thrombosis of left circumflex branch."
:'The books of Father Anthony de Mello were written in a multi-[[religious]] context to help the followers of other [[religion]]s, [[agnostic]]s and [[atheist]]s in their [[Spirituality|spiritual]] search, and they were not intended by the author as manuals of instruction of the Catholic faithful in Christian [[doctrine]] or [[dogma]].' <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2065/is_2_51/ai_56063940/print|title=''The Prayer of the Frog Called into Question'' at Findarticles.com|author=T.K. Thomas|month=April | year=1999|publisher=The Ecumenical Review|accessdate=2006-11-24}}</ref>
 
== Posthumous controversy ==
Regardless, his writings are available in some [[Catholic]] book shops.
 
In 1998, 11 years after de Mello's death, the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]] (CDF) under the leadership of its Cardinal-Prefect, [[Joseph Ratzinger]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-j-reid-jr/the-last-20th-century-pope_b_2669582.html |title=The Last 20th-Century Pope &#124; Charles J. Reid, Jr |date=12 February 2013 |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |accessdate=30 December 2015}}</ref> (who later became Pope Benedict XVI), conducted a review of de Mello's work and released a comment stating that while "his works, which almost always take the form of brief stories, contain some valid elements of oriental wisdom . . . [which] can be helpful in achieving self-mastery, in breaking the bonds and feelings that keep us from being free, and in approaching with serenity the various vicissitudes of life," some of de Mello's views, expressed particularly in his later work, "are incompatible with the Catholic faith and can cause grave harm."
 
In particular, the CDF wrote that while "especially in his early writings, Father de Mello, while revealing the influence of Buddhist and Taoist spiritual currents, remained within the lines of Christian spirituality," they understood de Mello's view of Jesus as "a master alongside others," objected to the idea that "the question of destiny after death is declared to be irrelevant; only the present life should be of interest," and expressed further concern that "the author's statements on the final destiny of man give rise to perplexity."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19980624_demello_en.html|author=Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith |author-link=Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith |title=Notification Concerning the Writings of Fr. Anthony de Mello, SJ|accessdate=26 March 2017 |quote="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."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDFDEMEL.HTM|author=Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith |author-link=Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith |title=Notification Concerning the Writings of Fr. Anthony de Mello, SJ |publisher=EWTN Global Catholic Network|accessdate=26 March 2017| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20061115051847/http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/cdfdemel.htm| archivedate= 15 November 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref>
 
The Indian magazine ''Outlook'' saw this as an attempt by Rome to undermine the clergy in Asia amid widening fissures between Rome and the Asian Church.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/books/gospel-according-to-de-mello-news-206551 |title=Gospel According To De Mello &#124; Saira Menezes &#124; Nov 16,1998 |date=5 February 2022 |publisher=Outlookindia.com |accessdate=5 March 2024}}</ref> De Mello's books are available in many Catholic bookshops in the West, but sometimes include an advisory that they were written in a multi-religious context and are not intended to be manuals on Christian doctrine.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://tonydemello.wordpress.com/about/|title=About|date=20 October 2007|work=Anthony de Mello Resource|access-date=1 June 2017|language=en-US}}</ref>
 
== Bibliography ==
A number of de Mello's works were published posthumously as collections or based on notes or recordings of his conferences.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDFDEMEL.HTM |title=CDF – Writings of Fr. De Mello, SJ |publisher=Ewtn.com |accessdate=30 December 2015 |archive-date=15 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061115051847/http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/cdfdemel.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
{{wikiquote|Anthony de Mello}}
<!-- removed: [[File:Tony-demello.jpg|right|250px]] -->
*''The Song of the Bird'', 1984. ISBN 978-0385-19615-4
*''Sadhana: A Way to God'', 19841978. {{ISBN 978|0-0385385-19614-78}}
*''Wake Up! Spirituality for Today,'' 90 minutes of talks given before a live audience
*''Wellsprings'', 1986. ISBN 978-0-385-19617-8]
*''OneThe MinuteSong Wisdomof the Bird'', [[Image]], 19881982. {{ISBN 978-|0-385-2429019615-56}}
*''AwarenessWellsprings'', [[Image]],19901984. {{ISBN |978-03850-385-2493719617-98}}
*''TakingOne FlightMinute Wisdom'', 1990Image, 1985. {{ISBN 978-|0-385-4137124290-85}}
*''The WayHeart toof Lovethe Enlightened'', 1992[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]], 1987. {{ISBN 978|0-0385385-2493924672-32}}
*''TheTaking Heart Of The EnlightenedFlight'', [[Image]], 19941988. {{ISBN 978-|0-517385-1147441371-28}}
*''AwakeningAwareness'', [[Image]], 20031990. {{ISBN |978-03850-385-5099524937-49}}
*''Contact with God'', [[ImageLoyola Press]], 20031991. {{ISBN 978|0-03858294-509940726-7X}}
*''The Way to Love'', 1992. {{ISBN|978-0-385-24939-3}}
*''One Minute Nonsense''
*''One Minute Nonsense'', [[Loyola University Press]], 1992 {{ISBN|0-8294-0742-1}}
*''The Prayer of the Frog''
*''More One Minute Nonsense'', [[Loyola University Press]], 1993 {{ISBN|0-8294-0749-9}}
*''Praying Naked: The Spirituality of Anthony de Mello'' (by J. Francis Stroud, S.J.), [[Image]] 2005. ISBN 978-0385-51314-2
*''Call to Love'', Gujarat Sahitya Prakash, 1996
*''Rooted in God'', St Pauls, 1997
*''Awakening'', Image, 2003. {{ISBN|978-0-385-50995-4}}
*''A Way to God for Today,'' [[RCL Benziger]], 2007
*''Seek God Everywhere,'' Image, 2010 {{ISBN|978-0-385-53176-4}}
*''The Prayer of the Frog'' Vol. 1 & Vol. 2. In the English printing, these are titled ''Taking Flight'' and ''The Heart of the Enlightened''
{{portal bar|Biography|Catholicism|India}}
 
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
<references/>
 
== Further reading ==
==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
*[http://www.demello.org/ Official de Mello site]
*[http://tonydemello.wordpress.com/ Online de Mello resource including Videos & MP3s]
*[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2065/is_2_51/ai_56063940/print Summary of his writings]
*[http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDFDEMEL.HTM Notification Concerning the Writings of Fr. Anthony de Mello, SJ]
*[http://users.tpg.com.au/adsligol/tony/index.html ''Tony de Mello, S.J.: A Short Biography'', by Bill De Mello (brother)]
*[http://www.cta-usa.org/conf2001talks.html#nazareth ''Here & Now with Anthony de Mello'', a 2001 workshop presentation by Malcolm Nazareth]
*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/other/c/c-mello.html Anthony de Mello quotes]
*[http://www.emailspirituality.org/ Subscribe to daily emails of de Mello's writings]
 
===Biography===
[[Category:1931 births|Mello, Anthony de]]
*[http://www.tonydemello.com/#!about/aboutPage ''Tony de Mello, S.J.: A Short Biography'', by Bill De Mello (brother)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229171323/http://www.tonydemello.com/#!about/aboutPage |date=29 December 2019 }}
[[Category:1987 deaths|Mello, Anthony de]]
[[Category:Christian mystics|Mello, Anthony de]]
[[Category:Indian self-help writers]]
[[Category:Indian spiritual writers|Mello, Anthony de]]
[[Category:Indian Jesuits|Mello, Anthony de]]
[[Category:People from Goa|Mello, Anthony de]]
[[Category:Spiritual teachers|Mello, Anthony de]]
[[Category:Indian theologians]]
 
===Online resources===
[[ca:Anthony de Mello]]
*[https://www.demellospirituality.com/ De Mello Spirituality Center website]
[[cs:Anthony de Mello]]
*[https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/notification-concerning-the-writings-of-fr-anthony-de-mello-sj-2061 "Notification Concerning the Writings of Fr. Anthony de Mello, SJ"]
[[de:Anthony de Mello]]
*[http://www.spiritual-short-stories.com/spiritual-short-stories-2-7-Anthony+de+Mello.html Spiritual Stories from Anthony de Mello]
[[es:Anthony de Mello]]
*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/other/c/c-mello.html Quotes by de Mello]
[[fr:Anthony de Mello]]
 
[[id:Anthony de Mello]]
===Multimedia===
[[it:Anthony de Mello]]
*[http://vimeo.com/9718009/ "Rediscovery of Life", a conference by de Mello in five parts]
[[hu:Anthony de Mello]]
*[http://tonydemello.wordpress.com/ Online de Mello resource including videos and MP3s]
[[pl:Anthony de Mello]]
*[http://www.humanmedia.org/catalog/program.php?products_id=383 "Remembering Anthony DeMello", Humankind Public Radio program recorded at a retreat held at Fordham University shortly before his death.]
[[ro:Anthony de Mello]]
 
[[sk:Anthony de Mello]]
{{Authority control}}
[[fi:Anthony de Mello]]
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:de Mello, Anthony}}
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:1987 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Christian mystics]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic mystics]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian Jesuits]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Indian self-help writers]]
[[Category:Indian spiritual writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian Roman Catholic theologians]]
[[Category:Jesuit theologians]]
[[Category:Spiritual teachers]]
[[Category:Psychotherapists]]
[[Category:Dissident Roman Catholic theologians]]
[[Category:American male writers of Indian descent]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:Buddhist and Christian interfaith dialogue]]
[[Category:Christian contemplation]]
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