It is with great sadness that we, the European Society of Catholic Theology, announce the death of our founder and inaugural President, Prof. Peter Hünermann. Born in Berlin in 1929, Prof. Hünermann taught theology at the universities of Münster (1971–1982) and of Tübingen (1982–1997).

His many publications include Papacy and Ecumenism. On the Petrine Ministry for the Unity of All the Baptized (Regensburg, 1997) and Dogmatic Principles. Faith – Tradition – Theology as a Process of Language and Truth (Münster, 2003). He was editor of the 40th edition of the Enchiridion symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum, and, in cooperation with colleagues from the Faculty of Theology in Tübingen, produced the Herder Commentary on the Documents of the Second Vatican Council (2004–2006).

He was also a member of the follow-up project “The Second Vatican Council: Event and Mandate”, working on an intercontinental commentary on the Council texts. The first volumes have recently been published in German and English, wonderfully only some weeks before his death.

Perhaps his richest fruit is found in his many students, who continue his work in the world of academia and the Church. We, the members of the association, are deeply grateful for his vision in founding our society, and for his ongoing work through the Peter Hünermann Foundation (established 2008), which continues to foster the Society’s research activities, including support for the peer-reviewed journal ET-Studies.