Pietro Archiati (1944-2022) studied Theology and Philosophy in Rome and Munich. He worked in Laos as a teacher during the Vietnam War, and later as a missionary in New York. In 1977, while a hermit on Lake Como (Italy) he discovered anthroposophy, which became his lifelong passion. He later worked as a lecturer in a priest seminary in South Africa. After leaving the Church in 1987, he became a freelance speaker and writer. From 2004 until his death, together with Monika Grimm, he led the publishing company Rudolf Steiner Ausgaben (Rudolf Steiner Editions). His many prefaces and epilogues to the Steiner volumes he published are an attempt to build a bridge between anthroposophy and contemporary life.