Timothy Radcliffe

Timothy Radcliffe, OP (1945, London–) is a Roman Catholic priest and Dominican friar of the English Province, and former Master of the Order of Preachers from 1992-2001. He is the only member of the English Province of the Dominicans to have held the office since the Order's foundation in 1216.

Radcliffe entered the Dominican order in 1965, was ordained a priest in 1971. He taught Holy Scripture at Oxford University at Blackfriars.

He was elected provincial of England in 1988,

In 1992 he was elected Master of the Dominican Order and held that office until 2001. During his tenure as Master of the Order he was ex officio Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum in Rome.

He gained an international reputation, due to his analyses of contemporary society, Christian life, religious life, and the situation of the Catholic Church. Several of his books became best-sellers. The subtlety of his thinking, together with the simplicity and depth of his language, and his strong sense of humor, made him a force to be reckoned with in the Catholic Church.

In 2001, after the expiration of his nine-year mandate as Master of the Dominican order, Timothy Radcliffe took a sabbatical year. Starting in 2002, he became again a simple member of the Dominican community of Oxford. He is now a highly sought after speaker, teaching and preaching in many countries. In 2003, Radcliffe was made an honorary Doctor of Divinity in the University of Oxford, the University's highest honorary degree.

He was the 2007 winner of the The Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing, for his book What Is the Point of Being A Christian?

Radcliffe is patron of the International Young Leaders Network and helped to launch the Las Casas Institute on ethics, governance and social justice. These are both projects of Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford.