The Rev. William Bichsel, S.J. doesn’t just talk about what’s wrong with the world. Now in his eighties, he still dedicates his life to the causes of peace and justice, even when taking a stand means going to jail. Bichsel’s lifelong activism led to his selection as the Greater Tacoma Peace Prize Laureate for 2012.   

Dennis Flannigan nominated Bichsel, who was also endorsed by Bill Baarsma, Bruce Foreman, Lyle Quasim, Sen. Debbie Regala, and Colleen Webster. Flannigan has known him for many years.

Bichsel was ordained in 1959. Then he began to work with the homeless and downtrodden, and became well-known as a non-violent protestor and demonstrator against nuclear weapons and the military training facility called the U.S. Army School of the Americas. These actions resulted in arrest and incarceration on numerous occasions, including detention in the federal penitentiary system.

In his nomination essay, Flannigan wrote, “If you ask those who love Tacoma who best represents the peace movement here, most would respond, ‘Father Bichsel.’ How appropriate and just plain right to honor him while he still lives, acts, and defies conventions that need defying.”