The Rev. Professor Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church at Harvard University, died on Feb. 28 from complications arising from a stroke. He was 68 years old.
Gomes, an American Baptist minister, served in the Memorial Church since 1970. He was a member of both the Divinity School faculty and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard. Gomes authored many books, including the best-sellers “The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart” and “Sermons: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living,” as well as numerous articles and papers.
Rev. Peter J. Gomes and Matina Horner in 1983. Photo courtesy of Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University The Rev. Peter J. Gomes (from left) is pictured with Matina Horner and Derek Bok during Harvard’s Commencement in 1973. Photo courtesy of Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University The Rev. Peter J. Gomes speaks at a Commencement symposium in 1982. Photo by Lilian Kemp/Courtesy of Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University Portrait of Rev. Peter J. Gomes outside of Memorial Church in 1974. Photo courtesy of Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University Ronald F. Thiemann (from left), Harvard Divinity School dean and John Lord O’Brian Professor of Divinity, speaks with Ralph B. Potter Jr., professor of social ethics, and Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, at the Divinity School’s 181st convocation in 1997. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Rev. Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, in 1996. Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer Rev. Peter J. Gomes addresses the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 2000 as part of Speaker of the House Thomas M. Finneran’s Lyceum series, which brings special guests before the House to present their thoughts on a wide range of topics. After speaking eloquently and humorously about “The Common-Wealth and the Civic Imagination: Cherishing the Public Mind,” Gomes receives a book from Finneran. Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer The Rev. Peter J. Gomes (from left), Harvard President Neil Rudenstine, University Marshal Richard Hunt, and Nelson Mandela watch as Mandela’s wife, Graça Machel, the former First Lady of Mozambique, signs Harvard’s guestbook. Mandela and Machel visited Harvard on Sept. 18, 1998 for a special convocation honoring Nelson with an honorary degree. Mike Quan/Harvard Staff Photographer Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine presents a silver urn to the Rev. Peter J. Gomes at “A Collation on the Delta,” a celebration on Nov. 14, 1999 honoring Gomes for his 25 years as minister in the Memorial Church. Photo by Marc Halevi Rev. Peter J. Gomes (from left), Melissa Ann Eccleton, and Rohit Chopra chat during a party at Loeb House following the inauguration of Lawrence H. Summers as Harvard University president in 2001. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer In the wake of days like Sept. 11, says the Rev. Professor Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, “You begin to wonder what does last, what is permanent. When there is something that challenges, as this did, people then are forced to ask basic questions.” Justin Ide/Harvard Staff Photographer The Rev. Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, reflects a moment inside Sparks House in September 2002. Kris Snibbe/ Harvard Staff Photographer The Rev. Peter J. Gomes speaks at a ceremony in the Memorial Church during a visit to Harvard by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2003. Justin Ide/Harvard Staff Photographer Rev. Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, speaks at a peace walk at the John Harvard Statue in Harvard Yard organized by the Weatherhead Center’s Steven Bloomfield (not pictured) in 2005. Also attending are Weatherhead Center staff Ethan Kiczek (from left), Monet Uva, and Bob Threlkeld. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Harvard President Lawrence Summers (left) and the Rev. Peter J. Gomes lead the Baccalaureate Service for seniors and their families in Memorial Church in 2006. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer Rev. Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, attends Senior Class Day exercises in Tercentenary Theatre in 2006. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Rev. Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, speaks before a performance by cellist Yo-Yo Ma ’76 at a benefit concert for the 75th anniversary of the Memorial Church in 2007. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Drew Faust (left) is escorted by Rev. Peter J. Gomes, the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, during her installation as the 28th president of Harvard University in 2007. Ceremonies began with a service of thanksgiving at Memorial Church. Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer The Rev. Peter J. Gomes welcomes seniors to the Baccalaureate Service at the Memorial Church in 2008. Justin Ide/Harvard Staff Photographer The Rev. Peter J. Gomes presides over the Senior Chapel service in the Memorial Church during Morning Exercises at Commencement in 2008. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer Rev. Peter J. Gomes walks down the aisle of graduates at Harvard’s 357th Commencement in 2008. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer Harvard President Drew Faust chats with Rev. Peter J. Gomes in the Memorial Church prior to the arrival of former Vice President Al Gore ’69. Gore and Faust were featured speakers at Harvard’s University-wide “Sustainability Week” in October 2008. Justin Ide/Harvard Staff Photographer Rev. Peter J. Gomes attends a ceremony in Sanders Theatre honoring Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy with an honorary degree in December 2008. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer Harvard Professors Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr. (left) and Rev. Peter J. Gomes attend a Loeb House reception following the special convocation for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in 2008. Justin Ide/Harvard Staff Photographer September 2009. Rev. Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, hosts Wednesday Tea, a weekly tradition during term inside Sparks House at Harvard University. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer September 2009. Rev. Peter J. Gomes (from left), Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, speaks with Harvard Divinity School student Shaundra Cunningham while hosting Wednesday Tea, a weekly tradition during term inside Sparks House at Harvard University. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer September 2009. Rev. Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, hosts Wednesday Tea, a weekly tradition during term inside Sparks House at Harvard University. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer September 2009. Tea pourer Sally Fay Cottingham (left) has enjoyed Wednesday Tea at Sparks House for more than a decade. Rev. Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, hosts the tea, a weekly tradition during term. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Harvard President Drew Faust (right) speaks with the Rev. Peter J. Gomes and Professor Dorothy Austin in the transept of Memorial Hall after giving a “State of the University” address in September 2009. Justin Ide/Harvard Staff Photographer Rev. Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, concludes a centennial convocation event at Harvard Extension School in September 2009. Harvard Extension School Dean Michael Shinagel (seated behind Gomes), Harvard President Drew Faust, and President of Colombia Álvaro Uribe Vélez listen. Justin Ide/Harvard Staff Photographer Dorothy Austin (from left), Sedgwick Associate Minister in the Memorial Church; Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church; and Jonathan Page, Epps Fellow and assistant chaplain in the Memorial Church, process during the Great Vigil of Easter at the Memorial Church in April 2010. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Taylor Lewis Guthrie, M.Div. ’10 (left), listens as Rev. Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, speaks during the Great Vigil of Easter at the Memorial Church in April 2010. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Dorothy Austin (from left), Sedgwick Associate Minister in the Memorial Church; Rev. Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church; and Martin Wallner ’11, verger, light candles from a bonfire during the Great Vigil of Easter at the Memorial Church in April 2010. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Rev. Peter J. Gomes shakes hands with seniors as they exit the Memorial Church following the Baccalaureate Service in May 2010. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer Rev. Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, attends the Phi Beta Kappa Literary Exercises inside Sanders Theatre in May 2010. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Rev. Peter J. Gomes processes past Widener Library during Commencement Morning Exercises at Harvard in May 2010. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer Rev. Peter J. Gomes enjoys a lighter moment during the Baccalaureate Service in the Memorial Church in May 2010. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer The Harvard Coop stocks a collection of books written by the late Rev. Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, who passed away on Feb. 28, 2011. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
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