Brennan Manning

Richard Francis Xavier Manning, known as Brennan Manning (April 27, 1934 – April 12, 2013), was an American author, laicized Catholic priest, and public speaker. He is best known for his bestselling book The Ragamuffin Gospel.

Manning was born in Depression-era Brooklyn, New York City, and was one of three children. After studying at St. John's University in Queens for two years, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and fought in the Korean War. After returning to the U.S., he studied journalism.

In February 1956, he had a powerful experience of the personal love of Jesus Christ and converted to Catholicism. He noted that, "At that moment, the entire Christian life became for me an intimate, heartfelt relationship with Jesus." He went on to study at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania, graduating with a degree in philosophy in 1960 and then continuing to study theology. In May 1963, he graduated from St. Francis Seminary and was ordained into the priesthood as a Franciscan. He took the name "Brennan" which was partly based on Saint Brendan but also to honor a friend of the same name.

In the late 1960s, Manning joined the Little Brothers of Jesus of Charles de Foucauld, a religious institute committed to an uncloistered, contemplative life among the poor. Manning transported water via donkey, worked as a mason's assistant and a dishwasher in France, was imprisoned (by choice) in Switzerland, and spent six months in a remote cave in the Zaragoza desert.

In the 1970s, Manning returned to the US and began writing after confronting his alcoholism. He entered rehab at the Hazelden Foundation in Center City, Minnesota.

By 1982, he had published several books and he decided to leave the Franciscan order. He moved to New Orleans and married Roslyn Ann Walker. He struggled with alcohol for the rest of his life and he and Roslyn divorced in 2000.

Manning's writings led to a more public ministry, and he was often asked to speak and to lead spiritual retreats. He saw his work as sharing the news of God's love for people.

Manning was often public about his faults, noting at his high school reunion that during his life he had been "promiscuous, a liar, envious of the gifts of others, insufferably arrogant, a people-pleaser and a braggart", but he shared how, "By sheer undeserved grace, I've been able to abandon myself in unshaken trust to the compassion and mercy of Jesus Christ."

At one event he led singer Rich Mullins on a three-day silent retreat. This started a life-long friendship between the two, and Mullins named his backing group "a Ragamuffin Band."

The following quote appeared in the prelude to dc Talk's song "What If I Stumble?" It also appeared on an intro track for the Christian metalcore band War of Ages on its album Fire from the Tomb:

The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.

Manning died on April 12, 2013, in New Orleans. He died of Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome, a neurological disorder which may have been accelerated by misuse of alcohol.