06/25/2025

Helen De Cruz, Ph.D., the Danforth Chair in the Humanities at Saint Louis University, died Friday, June 20, 2025. She was 46.

The Belgian-born philosopher examined why and how humans engage in pursuits that seem remote from the immediate concerns of survival and reproduction, such as theology, mathematics, and science.

"In her short life, Helen De Cruz succeeded in producing a body of work that has had a far-ranging influence on the field of philosophy,” said Eleonore Stump, Ph.D., professor of philosophy. “In her outpouring of writing during her last illness, she made a deep impact on many people, who will remember her a long time for the spiritedness with which she faced her own mortality. Her death leaves a palpable emptiness."

De Cruz joined Saint Louis University in 2019 as a full professor in the Department of Philosophy. She also held a secondary appointment in the department of Theological Studies. 

In addition to her role on the faculty, De Cruz served as editor-in-chief of Res Philosophica, the international, quarterly journal of philosophy that publishes research in all areas of philosophy, historical and topical. Founded as The Modern Schoolman by Jesuit Scholastics in 1925, the journal is edited by members of the Department of Philosophy at Saint Louis University. 

“Our department has been greatly blessed by Helen De Cruz's creativity, generosity and intelligence,” said Scott Ragland, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Philosophy. “She worked tirelessly to encourage and uplift students, especially graduate students. Her positive attitude and spirit of giving will be sorely missed.”

In early 2025, Saint Louis University earned the “R1” designation from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and De Cruz was part of that effort. As a researcher, she was named to the first cohort of Research Institute Fellows in August 2022. In 2023, SLU’s Research Institute honored her with a Scholarly Works Award for the article “How to be useless,” a reflection on letting go of the need to strive for success or produce material goods, which she wrote with Pauline Lee, Ph.D., associate professor of theological studies, and published in Psyche.

“She was taken from this world much too soon,” Lee said. “She was so much energy, joy, endless curiosity, intellectual brilliance, generosity and kindness, and she was funny. I had the great fortune of teaching with her and writing with her, and drinking coffee with her, and like everyone who has met Helen or read her work, my worldview is changed, for the better, because of her. She seemed to be able to continuously learn anew. She was an artist, a musician of the lute — and it’s not just that she played and drew, she published and performed — and we all know, she was a great philosopher, writer of fiction, and teacher and mentor.”  

The Psyche article was just one of many from De Cruz. A prolific author, she wrote several monographs, most recently “Wonderstruck: How Awe and Wonder Shape the Way We Think.” She also wrote a number of papers which have appeared in journals such as Philosophical Studies, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Philosophers' Imprint. De Cruz also published a blog, Wondering Freely.

Along with her writing, De Cruz also served stints as the executive editor for the Journal of Analytic Theology and managing editor for Faith and Philosophy.

“She lived her life boldly and courageously and to me it seemed, fearlessly, and it seemed she never paused for conventional boundaries,” Lee said. ”It wasn’t simply that she found so much of life so fascinating and wondrous and marvelous, but when she found what she found she seemed to go all in. If I think of Helen, I can’t help but smile and remember how she inspired me to stay intensely curious.”

De Cruz earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in archaeology and art studies from Ghent University in 1998. In 2000, he earned her master's in anthropology of art, also from Ghent. She earned two doctoral degrees, one in 2007 from the Free University of Brussels in archaeology and art studies and one in 2011 from the University of Groningen in philosophy. 

De Cruz spent time as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Leuven and the University of Oxford. In 2015, she began her teaching career when she was appointed an assistant professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. 

In 2016, De Cruz moved to Oxford Brookes University to be a senior lecturer and associate professor in philosophy and culture. From there, she moved to the United States and Saint Louis University. 

At SLU, she taught classes in Meta-ethics and the philosophy of religion. 

De Cruz is survived by her husband, SLU Research Professor Johan De Smedt, Ph.D.; daughter Aliénor, and son Gabriel.

“What I most will remember about Helen is how she spoke of her beautiful beloved family — her children, her husband, who was also a partner in their philosophical work, her sister, her family,” Lee said. “May Helen’s memory be a blessing and may they rest in peace.”

The memorial service for De Cruz will be on Friday, August 22, 2025, in Cupples House.  The service will begin at 3:30 p.m. and refreshments will be available thereafter, also in Cupples House.