Basil Pennington

M. Basil Pennington, O.C.S.O. (1931–2005) was an American Trappist priest and leading spiritual writer, speaker, teacher, and director.

Pennington was an alumnus of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas ''Angelicum'' where he obtained a licentiate in Theology in 1959. He also earned a licentiate in Canon Law at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Pennington became known internationally as one of the major proponents of the centering prayer movement begun at St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts, during the 1970s.

Pennington's book ''Centering Prayer'' was first published in 1980, and had sold more than a million copies by 2002. Translations of this work have been published in Spanish, French, Polish, Portuguese, and Italian. Provided by Wikipedia