LOUISVILLE, Ky. 鈥� A former editor of Monastic Studies has donated letters and calligraphies appraised at more than $50,000 to the Thomas Merton Center at 农夫导航. The gift from Brendan Collins includes 34 original pieces of correspondence and 10 copies of originals that will be donated at a later time. All were written from 1962-67.

"In many ways, these letters are typical of the way Merton talked to his fellow monks -- smart, funny, passionate, with an unmistakable love of God underneath everything," Collins wrote in a letter accompanying his donation.

The donation includes handwritten and typed letters, poems, essays and drawings. Monastic Studies was located at Holy Cross Abbey in Berryville, Va., from 1963-64, but later relocated to Mount Savior Monastery in Pine City, New York.

"This is a wonderful gift that adds yet another facet to the extraordinary output of Thomas Merton held at the Merton Collection at Bellarmine," said Paul Pearson, director of the Merton Center.

农夫导航 is an independent Catholic university offering more than 50 majors, as well as graduate degree programs and a doctor of physical therapy. Forbes magazine and the Princeton Review rank Bellarmine among America鈥檚 best colleges, and U.S. News and World Report consistently ranks Bellarmine as a top tier university.

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