ONE does not have to be a close observer of matters ecclesiastical and theological to appreciate that the archives are not exactly bulging with examples of personal correspondence from a Pope to an Ulster Presbyterian clergyman.
So it says much for the esteem in which the Rev Dr Norman Hamilton is held that Pope Francis has taken the time to thank him for his "thoughtful observations" on the encyclical Fratelli Tutti, as published in the Faith matters pages of the Irish News last October.
It is undoubtedly a highly unusual development. Yet it also feels entirely fitting; not only is it in keeping with the spirit of Fratelli Tutti itself, a document intended to foster a spirit of fraternity and cooperation that can feel elusive in this age, but also because both Pope Francis and Dr Hamilton have made reaching out beyond traditional boundaries hallmarks of their respective ministries.
That those vocations have overlapped - in Dr Hamilton's article and the Pope's personal response - is nonetheless remarkable.
Born in Magheralin, Co Down in October 1946, Norman Hamilton attended Portadown College. He came to a firm Christian faith before leaving home for Trinity College Dublin to study economics.
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While at TCD he met his future wife Evelyn; they married in 1979 and have a daughter, Julie, a lecturer at St Mary's University College in Belfast.
At TCD he also became involved in the university Christian Union, which he credits for giving his faith firmer foundations. No doubt it also sharpened the debating skills which proved so useful in his later involvement in public life.
A career in the civil service beckoned but after "seven wonderful years" he moved to England and took up a post with the evangelical organisation Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship.
In 1980 he returned to Northern Ireland to study theology and to train for the Presbyterian ministry at Union College in Belfast.
His first post was at Lowe Memorial in Finaghy in the south of the city. In June 1988 he was called to the Ballysillan congregation in north Belfast.
It was there, in 2001, that Dr Hamilton first came to wider public prominence during the Holy Cross school dispute in Ardoyne.
This, he says, "accelerated my exploration of how the local church relates properly to public live in its parish area... and then by extension to the proper relationship between the local church and the local community, and the church generally with wider society".
The loyalist picket of the Catholic primary school, with schoolgirls running a gauntlet of sectarian abuse, was one of the most dispiriting episodes in the years that followed the Good Friday Agreement.
Violence rippled across the interface and a deteriorating situation seemed impervious to political and policing solutions.
However, mediation work led by Holy Cross Passionist priest Fr Aidan Troy and Dr Hamilton helped calm tensions and bring the distressing episode to an end.
The relationships he built up during that time, including with senior loyalists, proved invaluable later in helping ease later disputes over parades and the creation of the North and West Belfast Parades Forum.
This sort of intense community engagement is not easy work. It is draining and time consuming. It attracts criticism. Most avoid it.
But you get the sense that for Dr Hamilton, it is part of putting into practice that call found in Jeremiah 29:7 to "seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile".
His many years of community and reconciliation work included serving on the Community Relations Council. He was awarded an OBE in 2007 for services to community relations.
After being nominated by 11 of the denomination's 19 presbyteries he started a 12-month spell as Presbyterian Moderator in June 2010.
He assumed the position with media experience and a clear idea of what he wanted to say - both rare commodities among new Moderators.
When Pope Benedict XVI visited England and Scotland in September 2010, Dr Hamilton represented the Presbyterian Church at a service at Westminster Abbey in London. He declined the invitation to meet the Pope - a decision that caused some controversy at the time.
Nonetheless, the all-Ireland role of Moderator provided other opportunities for reaching out and building constructive friendships.
This included with the GAA. As Ulster Council official Danny Murphy put it, it was a friendship "forged in the midst of tragedy".
During a meeting on January 10 2011 news reached those taking part that Michaela McAreavey had died.
"In the moments that followed the delivery of that terrible news Norman did what any good Christian and pastor would do he offered words and comfort and also a prayer," recalled Mr Murphy, who said he was "deeply touched at the compassionate words of a man who represented a Church who traditionally had no link with the GAA".
Mr Murphy invited Dr Hamilton to address that year's Ulster Council Conference, to act as a 'critical friend' and to share ideas on building a better and shared future.
Reflecting on his encounters with the GAA, Dr Hamilton last year said it was a "continuing delight to try to keep the relationship with the Presbyterian Church in good repair".
A characteristic of Dr Hamilton's engagements is that he is prepared not only to speak with but also to challenge those not traditionally regarded as being from his own community; it's critical friendship in action.
And so it is with the GAA. In 2011, he suggested the Ulster Council should set up a forum "for dialogue with elements of the unionist community".
However, this remains "an unrealised hope". "We could try to stand in each other's shoes; we could learn to talk well together; we could address the perceptions of the other, share some hopes, work though some real fears, as well as build some substantial personal and some very much needed public relationships," he said.
"In doing so we would be incrementally building a much better understanding of what a shared land looks like at parish level in Antrim, Armagh and Annalong."
The Irish News has also been enriched by Dr Hamilton's contributions in recent years - and not necessarily along predictable lines. In today's Faith matters, for example, he tackles the issue of loneliness.
He is also highly critical of the quality of government and Northern Ireland politics, including the ethical poverty at the heart of Stormont revealed by the RHI scandal.
After 26 years' service, he retired from Ballysillan in 2014. He stepped down as convenor of the Presbyterian Church's Council for Public Affairs in 2019.
Now living in Ballymena, his garden has benefited from his extra free time - he is as generous with his gardening advice as he is with encouragement and support of journalists. He is a keen photographer and walking is another hobby.
Yet he remains as engaged as ever in bringing the Church and clear Christian thought into the public square and, as Pope Francis wrote to him, "building up God's Kingdom of fraternity, justice and peace".
