Father John Anthony Hardon, S.J., the relentless
defender of the Faith  has touched so many
through his dogmatic, catechetic, and apologetic
logic that makes it simple for all to understand
the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
His selection came from many who are devoted
 to this dedicated Jesuit who has been a priest for
over 52 years.

Father John A. Hardon was born on June
18th, 1914 in Midland, Pennsylvania. When he
was just a few months old, his parents moved to
Cleveland, Ohio. One day while at work, his
father John Sr. noticed a beam of steel dangling
over the heads of his coworkers who were
eating lunch. He scrambled up the scaffolding,
thinking only of their safety. The scaffold gave
way and he fell to his death. Johnny was only
one year old when his father died.

 Johnny's mother, Anna Hardon, was a Third
Order Franciscan, a very devout women. She
taught Johnny to kneel before he was able to
walk. As she often said, your knees are for
kneeling to pray before God. When he was four
 years old, he went to his first all night vigil at
Our Lady of Consolation parish in Carey, Ohio.
His mother made a bed for him on the first pew.
 Anna prayed on her knees throughout the night
while Johnny slept.

 John was blessed with a Catholic school
education. From his sixth birthday he can
 remember going to daily Holy Mass with his
mother who worked hard to keep a roof over
their head and John on the straight and narrow.
Anna worked as a cleaning women in an office
building nights and also took in two girl boarders
who were Lutheran. Young Johnny asked his
mother why the girls didn't have to fast from
meat on Fridays.  His mother took this as a sign
to have the girls request permission from their
minister to fast from meat on Fridays. Their
Lutheran minister gave them permission and
again peace reigned in the Hardon household.

John was an intelligent boy and the sisters at
the Catholic school could see he had a flare for
acting. While in sixth grade he put on a one-man
show called "Pockets." For one solid hour he
kept the audience laughing with his explanations
of what he carried in his pockets. John sat next
to a girl named Jo, and for the most part through
school until college, she remained a pretty
constant person in his life. Jo was a very
 intelligent girl and good competition for John,
sharing many of the same interests.

John attended John Carroll University in
Cleveland for four years of college during which
 he and Jo kept in contact the entire time. As
time passed, Jo was making plans for them to
marry. But John's mother told him if the reason
 he was going to marry was so that she would not
 be alone without anyone to care for her, he was
not to be concerned. God would take care of her
with His divine grace as He always had. With
that, John's decision to enter the Society of Jesus
was made. He had only one more hurdle to
 jump. How to tell Jo? He already had the date
set to enter the Order. John and Jo went out to a
fine dinner on a Sunday evening. Just after
ordering the meal, John told Jo that he was
entering the Society of Jesus on the following
Wednesday. Jo cried all through the meal. But
Jo's loss was the Church's and world's gain!

At the age of 22 years old, John Anthony
Hardon embarked on the road to the priesthood
in the Jesuit Order. He studied hard and
achieved excellent grades. John was ordained on
his 33rd birthday, June 18th, 1947 at West
Baden Springs, Indiana. His mother, Anna, was
there to see this fulfillment of her prayers and
 good example.

When John was 43 years old he wrote his first
book which has yet to be published, but ensuing
works have found their way around the world
and inspired and educated millions. Father
Hardon was a member of the Society of
Jesus for 64 years and an ordained priest for 53
years. Father Hardon held a Masters degree in
Philosophy from Loyola University and a
 Doctorate in Theology from Gregorian
University in Rome. He taught at the Jesuit
Chicago and the Institute for Advanced Studies
in Catholic Doctrine at St. John's University in
New York as well as helped organize and
publish the series of catechetical books for
youth and adults. A prolific writer, whose works
have appeared in leading religious and
educational periodicals as well as various
collections, he authored over forty books,
including The Catholic Catechism, Religions of
the World, Protestant Churches of America,
Christianity in the Twentieth Century, Theology
of Prayer, The Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan
and  two question and answer
catechisms on the Holy Father's encyclicals The
Gospel of Life and The Splendor of Truth. In
addition, he was actively involved with a
number of organizations, such as the Institute on
Religious Life, Marian Catechists, Eternal Life
and Inter Mirifica, which publishes his
catechetical courses.  Father Hardon
 published a book called the Prophet for the
Priesthood, the story of the life of Father
Gerald Fitzgerald. He is the founder of the
Servants of the Paraclete and the Handmaids of
the Precious Blood.

Father Hardon has been spiritual director to
countless souls including the beloved "saint of
the gutter" Mother Teresa of Calcutta and has
taught the Missionaries of Charity around the
world. He worked for the Vatican for 34
years and was an advisor to the Second Vatican
Council. If anyone knows what should be or
shouldn't be in the liturgy in America today, it is
Father John. We can only pray that more
bishops would strive to know more of the
Vatican documents in order to curb the abuses
today, especially in the liturgy.

If you would like to know more about how to
order his books or the courses that Father John
A Hardon, S.J. has produced:
Eternal Life can be reached by calling
1-800-842-2871 .  You can contact Inter Mirifica at
1-301-942-9577 or write to
2812 Jutland Rd. Box 241
Kensington, MD 20895
Learn more about some of his work at The Real Presence
Many of Father Hardon's books and courses
are now carried by:
Ave Maria University Press
25715 Meadowbrook Road
Novi, MI 48375

More and more people are realizing that
Father John Hardon, S.J. is the man that God
ordained to be our help and our educator in this
time of great confusion and our true father in
Faith.

Father John Hardon died peacefully at Columbiere,
with the Jesuits, on December 30, 2000 at 3:23 p.m.,
the hour of Divine Mercy.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord. And let
perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and all
the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy
of God, rest in peace.

 Please keep Father in your prayers.
 

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