Born in
Essen on 20 October 1931, Waldenfels was the older brother of philosopher
Bernhard Waldenfels. On 5 April 1951, he joined the
Society of Jesus and completed his
novitiate and philosophy studies in
Pullach. From 1960 to 1964, he studied philosophy at
Sophia University in
Tokyo and was ordained on 18 March 1964 by
Archbishop of Tokyo Peter Doi. From 1965 to 1968, he studied for his doctorate at the
Pontifical Gregorian University in
Rome and the
University of Münster. His thesis, titled
Révélation - Le Concile Vatican II sur fond de la théologie nouvelle, was published in 1969 under the direction of
Karl Rahner. In 1976, he became a professor at the
University of Würzburg. In 1977, Waldenfels became a professor of fundamental theology, religious theology, and theological philosophy at the University of Bonn. He was dean of the faculty of theology there from 1979 to 1980 and from 1988 to 1990. He became a professor
emeritus in 1997. He was a vicar in
Düsseldorf from 1991 to 2006. From 2006 to 2007, he was a guest professor at
Marquette University in the United States. Waldenfels earned an honorary doctorate from the
Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw in 1993. He wrote numerous works on theology and
Biblical criticism. He also sought interreligious dialogue with Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. Hans Waldenfels died in Essen on 12 November 2023, at the age of 92. ==Publications==