Berrigan, Philip Francis

▪ 2003

      American peace activist and former Roman Catholic priest (b. Oct. 5, 1923, Two Harbors, Minn.—d. Dec. 6, 2002, Baltimore, Md.), saw combat duty during World War II but later, after having been ordained a priest in 1955 and become active in the civil rights movement, came to be one of the 20th century's most militant pacifists. During the Vietnam War he and his brother, the Rev. Daniel J. Berrigan, engaged in numerous protest activities, were repeatedly imprisoned for their deeds, and served as inspiration for the peace activists of the era. In 1968, in perhaps their most famous incident, the brothers and seven others—the “Catonsville Nine,” as they came to be known—carried out a raid on the office of the Catonsville, Md., draft board and used homemade napalm to burn its files in the parking lot. Berrigan and Elizabeth McAlister, a nun, were married in 1973, whereupon both were excommunicated. They founded Jonah House in Baltimore, and in 1980 Berrigan helped found the Plowshares movement, through which he continued his activism.

* * *