The School of Divinity was deeply saddened by the death of Mike Purcell on Friday 18 October 2013, after a brief illness.
Mike was a devoted teacher and supervisor, and much cherished by students and colleagues alike.
Mike originally trained as a doctor, but it was as a theologian and philosopher that he made his greatest contribution.
It was in Europe (where he trained), and especially in Leuven, where he found that they make a virtue out of doing things differently and being able to deal with that difference.
For Mike there was an especially fruitful engagement between phenomenology and theology, notably in the work of writers influenced by Martin Heidegger and Emmanuel Levinas.
Mike became a fixture of the Leuven conference schedule. In addition, his ministry as a priest marked him as a theologian whose thought was invested in the life of the Church.
His most recent essay, part of a collection that redefined the concept of 'saintliness' as it appears in contemporary French philosophy, looked at how, from the mid to the late 20th century, various French thinkers applied that label to friends and colleagues.
As a theologian Mike offered new ways of thinking about holiness, and what makes a saint.
He leaves behind him an international collection of colleagues, students, friends and keen readers. His loss is keenly felt in the School, and we extend our condolences to Mike's family and friends.
Notes
Dr Paul Foster is Head of the School of Divinity.
This obituary will also appear in the next edition of ‘Bulletin’.