Francis Tiso

Father Francis V. Tiso (born 19 September 1950) is a Catholic priest, scholar, and writer interested in inter-religious dialogue and Tibetan Buddhism. He teaches Tibetan Buddhism at the Pontifical Gregorian University (Universita' Pontificia Gregoriana: Istituto di Studi Interdisciplinari su Religioni e Culture) in Rome. He translated several early biographies of the Tibetan yogi and poet, Milarepa and studied the rainbow body phenomenon in Tibet. He has led research expeditions in South Asia, Tibet and the Far East, and his teaching interests include Christian theology, history of religions, spirituality, ecumenism and interreligious dialogue.

Tiso was born in New York, and received an A.B. in Medieval Studies from Cornell University, a Master of Divinity degree (cum laude) at Harvard University and a doctorate from Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary where his specialization was Buddhist studies. He was assigned to the Archdiocese of San Francisco where he served as Parochial Vicar of St. Thomas More Church and Chaplain at San Francisco State University and the University of California Medical School. He was also Visiting Professor in the archdiocesan School of Pastoral Leadership, where he taught courses in Foundational Theology. He also served as Parochial Vicar in Eureka, CA and in Mill Valley, CA.

In 1995 Tiso was invited to accompany Cardinal Francis Arinze, then head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, to a dialogue with Buddhist leaders in Taiwan. He has traveled extensively in India, Nepal, Tibet, Thailand, Japan, and Bangladesh. He was Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2004 to 2009, where he served as liaison to Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Sikhs, and Traditional religions as well as the Reformed confessions.

Since 1987 (diaconate), he has been a priest (ordained in 1988 May 19) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Isernia-Venafro, Italy, where he served as pastor of the parish of St. Michael in Fornelli (IS) until 2015 and now as assistant pastor of the parish of St. Joseph in Isernia. He was Diocesan Delegate for Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs from 1990 to 1998 and rector of the Istituto Diocesano delle Scienze Religiose. He was also chaplain of the Hermitage of Saints Cosmas and Damian at Isernia from 1988 to1998.

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