Gustavo Gutiérrez

Who is Gustavo Gutiérrez?

Gustavo Gutiérrez Merino, O.P., is a Peruvian theologian and Dominican priest regarded as the founder of Liberation Theology. He holds the John Cardinal O'Hara Professorship of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. He began studying in the faculty of medicine of the National University of San Marcos in Peru in order to become a psychiatrist, then he realized he wanted to become a priest. He has been professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and a visiting professor at many major universities in North America and Europe.

Gutiérrez is also a member of the Peruvian Academy of Language, and in 1993 he was awarded the Legion of Honor by the French government for his tireless work. In 2002 Gutiérrez was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 2003 he received the prestigious Príncipe de Asturias award. He has also published in and been a member of the board of directors of the international journal, Concilium.

Gutierrez spent much of his life living and working among the poor and oppressed of Lima. He has studied medicine and literature, psychology and philosophy, and obtained a doctorate at the Institut Pastoral d'Etudes Religieuses, Université Catholique in Lyon.