Biblioteca Balthasar
Endowed with nearly 10,000 books and journals, the library of the Casa Balthasar is a uniquely cultivated collection that seeks to bring to life and make accessible the theological, literary and cultural milieu of Hans Urs von Balthasar.
The library is typically open weekday mornings from 8:30-12:30, however, these times are subject to change, especially during the summer months. If you are interested in visiting the library, we encourage you to contact us in advance to confirm times and availability.
scroll
In the translation of all that I thought needed to be known and assimilated by Christians today from the great theological tradition, I tried to render as concrete as possible the sense of Catholicity. I began with the Apostolic Fathers, through the Middle-Ages, finally coming to our age. It seemed to be in the spirit of John, the one called simply, “the theologian”, to make known those among our brothers and sisters who are the greatest and most spiritual.”
Hans Urs von Balthasar
What's Inside
The Biblioteca Balthasar has been (and continues to be!) carefully cultivated with the express aim of bringing to life the theological, literary, and cultural milieu of Hans Urs von Balthasar. While the books contained span various genres, epochs, cultures, and philosophies, they are largely united by this single thread. One should be able to, for example, open a work of Balthasar's and subsequently pull from the shelf the source material referenced within.
Noteworthy contents of the library include:
-
The complete works of each of our principal authors in various languages;
-
A comprehensive collection of secondary literature of the principal authors (books, doctoral theses, articles in academic journal, etc.);
-
Works for which Balthasar served as editor, translator, prefacer, etc.;
-
An archive of the Communio International Catholic Review (cofounded by Balthasar) in multiple languages; and
-
Works by authors of primary importance to Balthasar and Lubac (some of whom can be seen below) both Christian and secular, varying in genre (philosophical, theological, literary, theatrical, poetic, etc.), especially:
-
St. Ignatius of Loyola;
-
Ferdinand Ulrich
-
Joseph Ratzinger - Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
-
If you would like to explore the library contents or search for a particular title, feel free to take advantage of our online catalogue by following the link below.