 philip francis berrigan (october 5, 1923 â december 6, 2002) was an american peace activist and former roman catholic priest. ==early life== berrigan was born in two harbors, minnesota, a midwestern working class mining town. he had five brothers, including the jesuit fellow-activist and poet, daniel berrigan. his mother, frieda (nÃ©e fromhart), was of german descent and deeply religious. his father, tom berrigan, was a second-generation irish-catholic, trade union member, socialist and railway engineer. philip berrigan graduated from high school in syracuse, new york, and was then employed cleaning trains for the new york central railroad. he played with a semi-professional baseball team. in 1943, after a semester of schooling at st. michael's college, toronto, berrigan was drafted into combat duty in world war ii. he served in the artillery during the battle of the bulge (1945) and later became a second lieutenant in the infantry. he was deeply affected by his exposure to the violence of war and the racism of boot camp in the southern us. berrigan graduated with an english degree from the college of the holy cross, a jesuit university in worcester, massachusetts. in 1950 he joined the society of st. joseph, better known as the josephite fathers, a religious society of priests and lay brothers dedicated to serving those of african descent, who were still dealing with the repercussions of slavery and daily segregation in the united states. after studying at the theological school of the society, st. joseph's seminary in washington, d.c., he was ordained a priest in 1955. he went on to gain a degree in secondary education at loyola university of the south (1957) and then a master of arts degree at xavier university in 1960, during which time he began to teach. in addition to his academic responsibilities, berrigan became active in the civil rights movement. he marched for desegregation and participated in sit-ins and bus boycotts. his brother daniel wr
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