Timothy Peter Joseph Radcliffe was born in London on 22 August 1945. He joined the Dominican Order in 1965 and was ordained a priest on 2 October 1971 after studies in Oxford and Paris. He taught Sacred Scripture at the University of Oxford, was prior of the Oxford convent from 1982 to 1988, provincial of England from 1988 to 1992 — and in 1992 became Master General of the Order of Preachers, a post he held until 2001.
An international preacher and writer, he ministered pastorally among AIDS sufferers, engaged in the peace movement, and won the 2007 Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing for What is the Point of Being a Christian? Francis invited him to preach the retreats for the bishops at the Synod on Synodality in 2023 and 2024.
Pope Francis created him a cardinal on 7 December 2024, with the deaconry of SS. Nomi di Gesù e Maria in via Lata.
Major Works & Initiatives
Master General of the Dominicans
Led the Order of Preachers worldwide for nine years.
Retreat preacher to the Synod on Synodality
Chose by Francis to set the spiritual tone of the Synod's bishops.
What is the Point of Being a Christian?
His best-known book; won the Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing.
Controversies
On the record
No significant public controversies reported.