Bede Jarrett

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Bede Jarrett – Life, Career, and Memorable Reflections

Discover the life, scholarship, and spiritual legacy of Bede Jarrett (1881–1934), the English Dominican friar, historian, and author who restored Dominican presence at Oxford and wrote influential works on medieval thought and Christian devotion.

Introduction

Bede Jarrett is not a household name, yet in Catholic intellectual and ecclesial circles he remains a respected figure: a Dominican friar who combined historical scholarship, spiritual writing, and pastoral zeal. He helped re-establish the Dominican Order at the University of Oxford, authored works on medieval socialism, Christian meditation, and ecclesiastical history, and influenced thinkers like Graham Greene. This article explores Jarrett’s life, work, personality, influence, and some of his enduring sayings.

Early Life and Education

Birth and Family Background
Bede Jarrett was born Cyril Jarrett on 22 August 1881 in Greenwich, England.

Early Education and Dominican Entry
Jarrett’s schooling included Stonyhurst College. Bede, after the Venerable Bede. Woodchester and undertook further philosophical and theological training at Hawkesyard.

In 1904, he became the first Dominican friar since the Reformation to enroll at Oxford (as a student attached to St. Benet’s Hall) where he studied history.

He was ordained as a priest in 1904 (December), shortly after beginning at Oxford.

Career and Achievements

Roles within the Dominican Order

Jarrett’s influence within his religious order was significant. He was appointed Prior of St. Dominic’s at a relatively young age (around 33) and later was elected Provincial of the English Dominican Province, holding that position for many years until his death.

One of his major institutional legacies was the foundation of Blackfriars Priory, Oxford in 1921. He led fundraising efforts (including appealing to benefactors in the United States) and oversaw construction, thereby reestablishing a Dominican presence at Oxford after centuries of absence.

Jarrett also purchased and revitalized the Dominican journal Blackfriars (later New Blackfriars) to ensure a Catholic intellectual presence in the English-speaking world.

Scholarly & Literary Contributions

Jarrett combined his religious vocation with serious scholarship and writing. His works span history, social theory, devotional literature, sermons, and reflections on spirituality.

Notable works include:

• Mediaeval Socialism — a study of medieval social and economic ideas.

• Social Theories in the Middle Ages: 1200–1500

• The Emperor Charles IV — a biography of the Holy Roman Emperor, considered a standard work.

• Meditations for Layfolk (later issued under titles like Classic Catholic Meditations)

• Living Temples (1919)

• Saint Catherine of Siena: Her Life and Times (coauthored)

• The English Dominicans, The Religious Life, Life of St Dominic, among others.

Jarrett also contributed entries to the Catholic Encyclopedia and wrote numerous sermons, lectures, and conference addresses.

His scholarly tone was marked by historical erudition, spiritual insight, and a desire to relate medieval Christian thought to modern concerns.

Historical Context & Influence

Jarrett’s life spanned a period of intellectual ferment in the Church (late 19th to early 20th century), when Catholic thinkers sought to engage modern thought, social questions, and historical scholarship. His efforts to bring Dominican scholarship and presence into modern universities (especially Oxford) was part of a broader movement of Catholic intellectual renewal in England.

His friendship and influence extended to figures like Graham Greene. Jarrett instructed Greene’s wife Vivien before her conversion to Catholicism, and later became the godfather to their daughter Lucy. Some biographers suggest that Jarrett’s writing and spiritual outlook influenced Greene’s works.

Jarrett combined contemplative devotion with public intellectual engagement, bridging academic historical work and pastoral spirituality.

Personality and Character

From biographical accounts, a few traits stand out:

• Passionate & Idealistic: As a youth, he was described as "intensely sensitive" and romantically inclined.

• Relational and pastoral: He was committed to preaching, pastoral care, and founded missions abroad (e.g. in South Africa and the Middle East) reflecting a missionary spirit beyond England.

• Scholar-priest: He was serious about historical rigor, theological formation, and engaging modern issues through the lens of Christian doctrine.

• Energetic organizer: His ability to raise funds, establish institutions, revive a journal, and lead his Order shows administrative and visionary energy.

• Charismatic and beloved: His colleagues and students remembered him for holiness, warm personality, and capacity for influence.

Famous Sayings & Reflections

Unlike some more secular authors, Jarrett is not widely known for catchy aphorisms, but his devotional and reflective writings contain lines worth noting. Below are a few:

• From Meditations for Layfolk / Classic Catholic Meditations:

  “God is nearer to us than we are to ourselves.”
  (A reflection often attributed in Catholic circles to Jarrett.)

• On spiritual life and social concern:
  Jarrett often intertwined social questions and spiritual reflection: his Mediaeval Socialism suggests that Christian charity and social justice are rooted in doctrine, not mere pragmatism.

• On the Dominican vocation:
  In sermons and addresses, Jarrett emphasized the harmony of preaching, study, prayer, and community — classic Dominican ideals.

Because his writings are more theological and less aphoristic, extracting quotable lines is more challenging than with poets or secular essayists.

Lessons from Bede Jarrett

What contemporary readers and spiritual seekers might learn from Jarrett:

1. Bridge scholarship with devotion
   Jarrett did not separate his intellectual work from spiritual life—but allowed history, theology, and meditation to inform one another.

2. Revive institutions with vision and patience
   Founding Blackfriars at Oxford and restoring the Dominican journal show how faithful persistence and networking can rebuild tradition in modern contexts.

3. Engage social issues from deep roots
   His works like Mediaeval Socialism show how one can root concern for justice within theological and historical reflection, not only ideology.

4. Prioritize formation & preaching
   As a friar, he believed that preaching, pastoral outreach, and teaching were essential, not peripheral, to religious life.

5. Cultivate friendships and mentorship
   His personal relationships (e.g., with Greene) show how spiritual and intellectual influence passes through friendship and guidance.

Conclusion

Bede Jarrett may not be widely known outside Catholic historical and Dominican circles, but his life and work remain inspirational: a priest who was both scholar and preacher, institution builder and contemplative, someone who sought to make Christian thought live in the modern world. His efforts at Oxford, his writings on medieval social thought, and his spiritual reflections continue to speak to those who seek a faith that engages history, culture, and the inner life.