Brother David Steindl-Rast Turns 100: A Life Devoted to Gratitude and Interreligious Dialogue

The Path to Interreligious Dialogue

His ideas spread beyond the monastery walls when the abbot of his main monastery in the United States asked him in the 1960s to become involved in interreligious dialogue. This marked the beginning of a second phase of life that took him to the Rigi in Switzerland, to the islands, and into countless lecture halls around the globe.

Steindl-Rast became internationally known above all through his engagement with gratitude. It was only at the age of 60 that he began to explore this theme systematically – an exercise he described as demanding yet simple. His message: to trust life rather than seeking to control it.

Gratitude as a Way of Life

His TED Talk on this subject has been clicked millions of times. Oprah Winfrey also invited him to learn from him how one can learn gratitude. Steindl-Rast answered at the time that gratitude is no technique but an attitude that must be practiced daily.

Ecumenical and at the same time deeply rooted in the Catholic tradition, Steindl-Rast encountered representatives of numerous religions over the course of his life. The Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh was among his companions along the way. Together they sought a spirituality suited to the present that goes beyond dogmatic boundaries.

A Centenarian with Global Impact

His main monastery in the United States remained his spiritual anchor for decades. From there he traveled the world, gave lectures, wrote books, and held countless conversations with people seeking comfort, orientation, or simply silence. At 100, he continues to be a voice that calls for pause.

Steindl-Rast himself has commented on his advanced age with composure. When asked what he still planned to do in the coming year of life, he answered to the effect that he still needed to ripen. The notion that a centenarian still regards himself as unfinished is among the peculiarities that have kept his impact fresh over the decades.

His biography stands as a paradigm for a spirituality that does not exhaust itself in retreat but radiates out into the world. The Benedictine Rule, Buddhist mindfulness, psychological research, and ecumenical openness flow together in his thinking. Thus an Austrian monk became a bridge-builder between the religions.

With his milestone birthday, his work and his person are once again moving into the focus of a broader public. Publishers, monasteries, and organizers in the United States, Austria, and Switzerland are preparing events that honor the jubilarian's achievements. At the center is less a look back than the question of which impulses his thinking can contribute to a confusing present.

That gratitude has meanwhile arrived as a topic in psychology, in companies, and in schools is seen in his circle as no coincidence. Steindl-Rast's message, to trust life rather than control it, strikes a chord in an era that seeks stability without falling into resignation.

At 100, David Steindl-Rast stands for a spirituality that crosses boundaries – and for the simple, demanding practice of trusting life. His life arc from Vienna via the monasteries of the United States to the great stages of the world remains an unusual testament to monastic vitality.