Father John Hardon, a Jesuit priest, was a brilliant writer and theologian. He was a willful child raised by his widowed mother but was softened by her steadfast faith. He studied to be a doctor and was engaged before he discerned the priesthood. He entered the Jesuits in 1936 and was ordained in 1947 and became a champion of orthodoxy. Throughout his career, he taught at Universities, founded religious institutions and wrote over 40 books on religion and theology, including The Catholic Catechism, while keeping close communications with Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, and Pope Benedict XVI. He died a painful death from bone cancer at the age of 86.
