Rosemary Haughton

Rosemary Elena Konradin Haughton (née Luling, 13 April 1927 – 9 May 2024) was a British Catholic lay theologian, who lived in the United States over a period of thirty years.[1]

Life and career

Rosemary Luling was born in London on 13 April 1927, the daughter of Peter Luling and the novelist Sylvia Thompson Luling.[2][3] She had two sisters, Dr. Virginia Luling (died 2013), and Elizabeth Dooley (née Luling; died 1962).[3] She attended Farnham Girls' Grammar School, Queen's College, London, and the Slade School of Fine Art.[2] She married Algernon Haughton in 1948; the couple had 12 children, including two foster children.[2][3] Algy Haughton died in Edinburgh in 2008.[2]

Rosemary Haughton wrote over 35 books; her daughter wrote of her that "she had a great deal to say on Catholic culture, feminist spirituality, marriage and sexuality, and soon she also had a wide and very interested audience".[2] She was influenced by Thomas Merton, whom she met and corresponded with.[3]

Rosemary and Algernon Haughton founded the intentional community of Lothlorien in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland in the 1970s.[2][3] Since 1989 this community has been managed by ROKPA International.[3] Haughton was also a founder member of the Wellspring House in Gloucester, Massachusetts.[2][3]

Haughton celebrated and affirmed her long-standing partnership with Nancy (Winifred) Schwoyer on 4 June 2011, with a civil ceremony held at Halifax Town Hall.[2][3] They lived together in Heptonstall, Yorkshire.[2] Rosemary Haughton died at home on 9 May 2024, at the age of 97.[2][4]

Publications

  • On Trying to Be Human
  • The Passionate God
  • The Catholic Thing
  • The Transformation of Man
  • The Drama of Salvation
  • The Tower That Fell
  • Images for Change
  • Tales from Eternity
  • Elizabeth's Greetings
  • Song in a Strange Land
  • The Re-Creation of Eve
  • The Theology of Experience
  • Tales from Eternity: The World of Faerie and the Spiritual Search[5]

References

  1. ^ "Rosemary Haughton's contributions to Catholicism deserve rediscovery". 13 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Haughton, Liz (22 August 2024). "Other Lives: Rosemary Haughton obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Ryrko, Phoebe (13 September 2024). "Radical Hospitality: In Memory of Rosemary Haughton (1927–2024)". Beshara Magazine. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  4. ^ Marmalade, Betty (9 May 2024). "Rosemary Eleanor Konradin Luling Haughton". Liz Haughton on Substack. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Title: Tales from Eternity: The World of Faerie and the Spiritual Search". www.isfdb.org.

Sources