Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
January 17, 2001
Father Hardon, theologian and author, dead at 86
'Tremendous catechist' overcame hardship to take leading role as scholar
Jesuit Father John A. Hardon, who wrote more than 200 books and articles on religion and theology, "was a tremendous catechist," according to fellow Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio, editor of Ignatius Press in San Francisco.
Comparing him to St. Peter Canisius, the Dutch Jesuit who wrote an influential catechism after the Council of Trent, Father Fessio said, "I think Father Hardon has done in the 20th century what Canisius did in the 16th."
Father Hardon succumbed to bone cancer Dec. 31 at the Jesuits' Colombiere Center in Clarkston, north of Detroit, where he had lived for the past year. He was 86.
A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated Jan. 4, at Gesu Church in Detroit.
Father Hardon's "The Catholic Catechism," published in 1975, continues to be a valuable guide to the faith, even after the publication of the official "Catechism of the Catholic Church," in Father Fessio's opinion.
"They're complementary. It's a different way of presenting the same ideas. He has articles in his catechism that treat specific themes in greater detail," he told Detroit's archdiocesan newspaper.
Even in his old age and despite his health problems, Father Hardon edited a magazine for catechists, The Catholic Faith, which Father Fessio said Ignatius Press would continue publishing.
"He was a great example of the old-time iron man Jesuit. He was a man of prayer, and he never stopped working," Father Fessio said.
He was also "a great encourager of others," his fellow Jesuit added.
Father Hardon served as spiritual director to Mother Teresa of Calcutta in her later years, as well as to many lesser-known Catholics. It was also Father Hardon who helped instruct an ailing Lee Atwater to accept the Catholic faith before the former political strategist's death.
Father Hardon was a founder of the Institute on Religious Life in Chicago, and was instrumental in founding the Consortium Perfectae Caritatis, an organization of U.S. Catholic sisters, as well as the Catholic Home Study Institute, which offers Catholic correspondence courses.
He was also a great encourager to Michigan Catholic Radio, according to John G. Kruse, its development director. Father Hardon had hoped for some years to see a Catholic presence on the radio, and he even had a proposed name for it - WCVA, Catholic Voice of America, Kruse said.
When supporters were able to buy their first station in suburban Detroit, those call letters were not available, but the organization has tried to live up to Father Hardon's vision in every other way, according to Kruse.
When its new morning drive-time program begins in March, Kruse said, a regular feature will be "A Father Hardon Catechetical Moment" in honor of the late catechist.
"Father Hardon was known for giving these five-minute sermons that were so packed with thoughts and theological reflections that they would stay with you throughout the day," Kruse said.
Father Hardon was a popular speaker at the annual conferences sponsored by Call to Holiness, "because he coupled what he taught with the way he lived," said Jay McNally, the organization's executive director.
"He spoke of sacrifices, suffering, humility and faithfulness, and people could see the sacrifices, suffering, humility and faithfulness in his own life," McNally said.
Born June 18, 1914, in Midland, Pa., the son of Slovakian immigrants, the young John Hardon moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, when he was a few months old. His father, John Sr., was killed in a work accident when John Jr. was less than a year old and he was raised by his mother, Anna, a member of the Third Order Franciscans.
His mother supported her young son by running a boarding house that took in other immigrant women. It laid the foundation for Father Hardon's later multilingual proficiency.
Young John attended his first all-night vigil at Our Lady of Consolation Parish in Carey, Ohio, at age 4 and began attending daily Mass at age 6.
After graduating from John Carroll University in Cleveland, he joined the Society of Jesus and was ordained a Jesuit on June 18, 1947. Over the years he taught at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School, Jesuit School of Theology at Loyola University, the Institute for Advanced Studies in Catholic Doctrine at St. John's University in New York, West Baden College in Indiana, Western Michigan University, and St. Paul University in Ottawa. He wrote a religious textbook series for elementary school called "Christ Our Life." Published in 1976 by Loyola University Press and revised in 1985, the series is used today by more than 600,000 students throughout the United States. His other books include "Religions of the World," "Christianity in the 20th Century," "The Catholic Catechism," "Theology of Prayer," "Protestant Churches of America," "The Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan" and "Prophet for the Priesthood." He is survived by several cousins. - CNS
