No one would doubt that the late theologian Servant of God Fr. John A.
Hardon, S.J. tirelessly taught others, wrote books, and advised Church leaders
to promote the true teachings of the Church.
Some years before his death in 2000, this Servant of God turned from
teaching in seminaries to lecturing widely among the laity and religious
communities. He also formed various apostolates to carry forward the
Church’s mission of evangelization. Among the most active of these today is
the Marian Catechist Apostolate (MCA), established at the request of Pope St.
John Paul II as a concrete response to the catechetical crisis gripping the
Church.
An Urgent Request of Pope St. John Paul II
At the time, the Catechism of the Catholic Church was still nearly a
decade from publication. At that time, Pope St. John Paul II asked St. Mother
Teresa to ensure sound catechesis for her sisters so that the Missionaries of
Charity could offer not only material assistance, but the full spiritual riches of
Christ’s teaching to the poorest of the poor. Fr. Hardon was a close collaborator with Mother Teresa, and from that seed grew an apostolate that would expand to serve bishops, priests, religious, and lay faithful around the world.
Before Servant of God Fr. John A Hardon’s death in 2000, leadership of the Marian Catechist Apostolate was entrusted to His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, who continues as its episcopal moderator and international director. The apostolate has been placed under the patronage of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of all America and Star of both the first and the new evangelizations.
“The key work in the apostolate of the Marian Catechists,” Father Hardon said, “is to make God known through Christ so that knowing God, people might love Him, and loving Him might serve Him, and serving Him might save their souls.”
Fr. Hardon is now a Servant of God, and his followers, both then and now, are hoping that his path to canonization will be swift.
Forming Souls for Christ
For more than forty years, the members of the Marian Catechist Apostolate — a public association of faithful Catholics — have sought to draw others closer to Christ through disciplined prayer and careful study. Their purpose is simple and demanding: to know the faith deeply, live it faithfully, and share it confidently.
Now headquartered at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin, the MCA trains Individuals, OCIA instructors, homeschoolers, parish catechists, and other groups worldwide. Through structured formation, doctrinal clarity, and devotion to Our Lady, the apostolate continues the quiet, steady work that characterized its founder.
Join the Marian Catechist Apostolate
We invite you to become a student, grow in your faith, seek
consecration, and join as a member to help with our mission by going to the
Marian Catechist Apostolate website.
Or visit the Marian Catechist Bookstore. Here you can purchase books by
Servant of God Fr. John Hardon, Cardinal Burke, and many other Catholic
authors.
