El día 25 de junio de 2016, por un asunto personal tuve que viajar al pueblo de Paughkeepsie al norte de la ciudad de Nueva York. Al buscar por Internet el lugar que me recomendaron para comer, encontré la siguiente página del Culinary Institute of America:
Renowned Jesuit Philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Who Died 60 Years Ago, is Buried at the CIA
Posted: April 9, 2015
Gravesite is Open to the Public
Media Contact:
Jeff Levine
Communications Manager
845-451-1372
j_levine@culinary.edu
Hyde Park, NY – An unpretentious headstone in a cemetery on the grounds of The Culinary Institute of America marks the final resting place of one of the great thinkers of the 20th century. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin died 60 years ago this week, on April 10, 1955, in New York City. It was Easter Sunday. The controversial philosopher, paleontologist, and scholar was buried the following day in Hyde Park on the grounds of what was then the St. Andrew-on-Hudson Jesuit novitiate.
Among Fr. Teilhard’s famous quotes is, “The day will come when, after harnessing space, the winds, the tides, and gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, we shall have discovered fire” (Toward the Future, 1936).
Born in France, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was one of the first Catholic scholars to espouse the theory of evolution and to seek a serious reconciliation of modern science and religion. He was a professor of geology at the Catholic Institute in Paris, director of the National Geological Survey of China, and director of the National Research Center of France. Fr. Teilhard lived in China for many years and played a major role in the discovery of Peking Man. He was living in New York City at the time of his death. A full biography can be found at the American Teilhard Association website.
The Jesuits occupied St. Andrew-on-Hudson from 1903 until 1968 and maintained a cemetery on their grounds. The Culinary Institute of America purchased the property soon after and moved to the Hudson Valley from New Haven, CT in 1972. The main seminary building, now known as Roth Hall, houses three public restaurants and many of the college’s classrooms and teaching kitchens. Visitors to campus can obtain a key to the cemetery from the CIA Campus Safety office and are welcome to visit Fr. Teilhard’s grave.
Photo Caption and Hi-Res Image
The grave of Jesuit philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. (Photo credit: The Culinary Institute of America)
View hi-res image >
Me dirigí al sitio y con toda amabilidad me indicaron donde obtener la llave del cementerio. Al llegar, para mi sorpresa, encontré rápidamente la lápida de Teilhard, pues destaca de todas las demás como se puede observar en la fotografía que tomé. Me dio gusto ver que el sitio es actualmente visitado con frecuencia, pues han sembrado flores y depositado, siguiendo los gustos de Teilhard, piedras y metales en el pequeño espacio sobre la lápida y empiezan a colocar también estos materiales en la parte trasera de la lápida.
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Estado anterior de la tumba |
Estado actual (26 junio 2016) |
Quede esta experiencia como un humilde homenaje a la memoria de Teilhard de Chardin, con el deseo de que su tumba no deje de ser visitada.
Guillermo Agudelo Murguía
Nueva York, junio de 2016