Very sad news of the death on 12 September 2026 of Fr Peter Henriot SJ, co-author with Joe Holland, of the influential booklet, Social Analysis, promoting the pastoral circle based on the see-judge-act.
The impact of that booklet extended far beyond the 48 pages of its length. Strangely enough, just yesterday I stumbled across my own battered copy. We often drew on it for our YCW training programs in Australia during the 1980s.
I met Peter a couple of times, first in Australia, then at a conference in Seattle and the third time somewhere else I can’t now remember.
He came to Australia for a conference organised the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace with Chris Sidoti back in the early 1980s.
A few years later he became our keynote speaker for an Australia-USA YCW exchange program in 1988 in Seattle, just down the road from his home town of Tacoma, Washington.
Somewhere along the line I met him at another conference by which time he was based at the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) in Lusaka, Zambia
Remembering him, Fr Leonard Chiti SJ, provincial of the Jesuit Southern Africa Province paid tribute to a Jesuit whose life and ministry were deeply rooted in faith, social justice, theological reflection and service to the poor, particularly in Zambia and Malawi.
During his 22 years as Director of the JCTR, he helped establish the Centre as an important voice in national conversations on poverty, debt, economic justice and development.
In their tribute to him, JCTR noted that Fr Peter “brought together faith, social analysis and practical action”:
His ministry was characterised by a conviction that theological reflection could not be separated from the lived realities of people experiencing poverty and injustice.
His contribution extended beyond the institutional work of JCTR. Together with Joe Holland, he co-authored the influential book Social Analysis: Linking Faith and Justice, which developed the pastoral-circle approach to understanding social realities and connecting them with theological reflection and pastoral action.
The approach has become an important tool for communities and practitioners seeking to understand the structural causes of injustice while discerning practical responses rooted in faith.
Fr Henriot’s influence was also felt through the many people who encountered his work and ministry. His contribution to social and economic reflection in Zambia helped inspire researchers, activists, students, development practitioners and others to look more deeply at the human realities behind poverty and inequality.
One scholar researching urban poverty in Zambia recalled Fr. Henriot as an inspiring figure whose work deepened his understanding of the importance of confronting poverty and its underlying causes.
Fr Henriot leaves behind a legacy that spans continents and generations.
For Zambia and Malawi, his ministry formed part of a long Jesuit tradition of accompanying communities, engaging social realities through faith and working for a more just society.
For JCTR, his 22 years of leadership form an important part of the Centre’s history and development. His work helped shape a tradition of linking rigorous social analysis with Christian reflection and a preferential concern for people living in poverty and on the margins of society.
As the Society of Jesus, the people of Zambia and Malawi, and all who knew and worked with Fr. Henriot mourn his passing, they also give thanks for his life and ministry.
His was a life spent seeking justice, nurturing faith, accompanying the poor and investing in people.
May he rest in eternal peace.
May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
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Former JCTR Director Fr. Peter Henriot, SJ, Dies at 90 (Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection)
Stefan Gigacz