He published more than 140 articles and edited several books. The priest of the Society of the Divine Word passed away on July 2. Originally from Britain, he had come to the eastern region of Indonesia in 1973.
Jakarta () – Indonesian Catholics mourn the death of Fr. John Mansford Prior, one of the most important theologians in the Asia Pacific region. The priest of the Society of the Divine Word passed away on July 2 at the age of 76.
Prior taught at the Ritapiret High School of Philosophy and Theology, in the diocese of Maumere, East Nura Tenggara province. Throughout his life he published more than 145 articles, 79 chapters of an anthology and edited 47 books, in Indonesian and English.
Originally from Great Britain, after graduating from Oxford, he obtained a doctorate in intercultural theology from the University of Birmingham. He arrived in Indonesia in 1973, a year after being ordained a priest.
“Father Prior is a true missionary priest who has dedicated his entire life and professional career as a theologian to Flores, the place where he was first assigned to carry out his pastoral mission,” said Card. Ignatius Suharyoa in 2014.
In his teaching role at Ritapiret, Father Prior promoted postgraduate theological curricula and the Centrum Church of Maumere and the parish church of Wolofeo. From 1993 to 2008, he was a representative of the Pontifical Council for Culture, created by Pope John Paul II in 1982. The pontiff chose him as a personal adviser on cultural issues.
As a theologian, he was a fellow of Asians Horizons in Bangalore, India, from 2014 to 2022, and of Asian Christian Studies in Chennai, Indonesia, from 2016 to 2022. As a lecturer, he taught at the University of Melbourne (1997-2009), at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago (1998), at Monash University (2007-2009), at the University of Divinity in Melbourne (2011-2022) and at the East Asia Pastoral Institute in Manila (2020-2022).
A former student of his spoke with and he said that the missionary was a key figure in Ritapiret for the development of theological studies.
Born on October 14, 1946, in Ipswich, UK, Father Prior was the fifth child of Vincent Thomas Prior and Kathleen Mary Mansford.
Add Comment