THEOLOGY DIGEST was founded by Cyril A. Vollert, S.J., and Gerald F. Van Ackeren, S.J., in the early 1950s when they were teaching at the Jesuit divinity school (St. Mary's College in Kansas). Theology Digest was envisioned as a way to make international theological work available to readers of English and to acquaint Jesuit students with perspectives beyond their own studies.

A pilot issue was produced under the leadership of Father Van Ackeren, who became editor when regular publication began in 1953. With faculty supervision, Jesuit students prepared translations and summaries of leading 20th-century theologians, many of whom would later be influential in Vatican II theology. At that time, TD was publishing three issues per year.

In 1956 the journal instituted an annual lecture series named for Robert Cardinal Bellarmine, with Frank Sheed as the first speaker. He was followed by John J. Wright, Bruce Vawter, C.M., and John Courtney Murray, S.J., before the lectures began to be published. In 1960, to make the Bellarmine Lecture and other outstanding lectures available to a wider audience, TD expanded to quarterly publication.

The Book Survey by W. Charles Heiser, S.J., appeared once or twice a year beginning in 1963 and eventually became a regular feature. Today in each issue it offers descriptions of about 230 books published or distributed in the U.S. and Canada and includes a selection of books in English from some other countries.

Theology Digest has been housed at Saint Louis University since 1967. Today laity and theologians of other denominations are also actively involved as editors, consultants, translators, and advisors.

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