John A. Hardon

Servant of God John Anthony Hardon received a bachelor of arts degree from John Carroll University in 1936. He entered the Jesuit novitiate in the same year, and received a Masters degree from Loyola in 1941, during his formation.

He was ordained on June 18, 1947 and then sent for doctoral studies To the pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He received his doctorate in sacred theology in 1951.

He professed final vows as a Jesuit on February 2, 1953. He was already serving as a professor, teaching from 1951 to 1990. Father Hardon continued to teach after that time, including distance education courses in print and by teleconference.

His Catholic Catechism was written at the request of Pope Paul VI, and he consulted on the Catechism of the Catholic Church which was promulgated by Pope John Paul II. He was selected to write the catechetical training program for Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, and that work became the foundation of the Marian Catechists apostolate.

He received the Papal Medal in 1951, a Catholic press Association award in 1973, the Cardinal Wright award from the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars in 1984, and the Maximilian Kolbe Award in Mariology in 1990.

His cause for beatification and canonization is currently open.