Prof. Emeritus Richard Clifford, S.J., receives Arrupe Award

Clough School of Theology and Ministry Professor Emeritus Richard Clifford, S.J., a renowned biblical scholar, was honored with the Arrupe Award for Distinguished Contributions to Ignatian Mission and Ministry by the University of Scranton.

Fr. Clifford’s teaching career spanned five decades. He taught at Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge from 1970 until the school’s reaffiliation with Boston College in 2008. He then served from 2008 to 2010 as the founding dean of BC’s School of Theology and Ministry (renamed the Gloria L. and Charles I. Clough School of Theology and Ministry in 2024). He retired in 2023.

Fr. Clifford also served as general editor of the Catholic Biblical Quarterly and president of the Catholic Biblical Association.

At an award ceremony earlier this spring, Daniel Cosacchi, University of Scranton’s vice president for mission and ministry, said Fr. Clifford was someone who’s lived a life “with faith, intellectual rigor and genuine kindness toward all.”

University of Scranton President Joseph G. Marina, S.J., who graduated from CSTM in 2012, recalled taking a course co-taught by Fr. Clifford.

It was captivating, creative, and so inspiring, Fr. Marina said, adding that he still has his notebook from the class and occasionally returns to it.

At the event, Fr. Clifford presented a lecture on “Jews and Catholics: Building a Peaceful Future,” in which he emphasized the ongoing need for understanding and compassion between the two faiths.

The University of Scranton established the Arrupe Award—named for the late Superior General of the Society of Jesus Pedro Arrupe, S.J.—in 1995 to recognize individuals who have furthered in a significant way the Ignatian mission.

For more information or to view pictures from the award ceremony, visit the University of Scranton's website.