In Memory of Rev. Dr. Lawrence Frizzell

(Adapted from an obituary kindly provided by his colleague, Rabbi Dr. Alan Brill) 

Reverend Lawrence E. Frizzell, S.T.L., S.S.L., D.Phil., longtime director of the Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies at Seton Hall University, passed away on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in St. Clare's Hospital in Dover, NJ.

Father Frizzell was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in 1938. He grew up in Alberta and British Columbia with his parents and four siblings. The family moved frequently, leading him to attend nine schools in 12 years. His mother was a teacher, sometimes providing instruction to him and other K-8 students in rural schoolhouses with no electricity. He credited her with inspiring his love of teaching. Memories of encountering anti-Catholic prejudice in his youth taught him to defend his faith while respecting others' beliefs. After high school, he attended seminary for two years in Edmonton before continuing his priestly training at Saint Paul Seminary in Ottawa. He went on to study and teach in Rome and throughout Europe, Canada, and the Holy Land. 

A man fluent in many languages, Father Frizzell visited Seton Hall for the first time in 1969 for a conference on Jewish-Christian relations organized by Monsignor John M. Oesterreicher and Sister Rose Thering. Following the completion of a doctoral degree in England, Father Frizzell joined the Seton Hall community in 1974. He soon helped design the curriculum for Seton Hall's graduate program in Jewish-Christian Studies, the first of its kind in the world. He later served as an associate professor in that program and director of Seton Hall's Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies. His work to encourage respect between the great faiths of Christianity and Judaism continues to serve as a model for eliminating prejudice. He was recognized far and wide for his accomplishments. In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI named him Consultor to the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, an appointment that was renewed by Pope Francis in 2014. A year later, he received the Sister Rose Thering Holocaust Education Award. Father Frizzell was a prolific writer and lectured widely on interreligious dialogue, including several presentations at the South Orange Public Library from 1992 to 2022. In addition, he was a columnist for The Catholic Advocate, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Newark, and the moderator of "The Kinship of Catholics & Jews," a weekly radio program on WSOU. 

A founding member of the CCJR, his wisdom will be sorely missed.