John Rao

Dr. John C. Rao obtained his doctorate in Modern European History from Oxford University in 1977. His dissertation concerned nineteenth century Catholic reactions to the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. He worked in 1978-1979 as Eastern Director of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and was Associate Professor of European History at St. John’s University in New York City from 1979 until 2021. Dr. Rao is also director of the Roman Forum, a Catholic cultural organization (www.romanforum.org) founded by the late Professor Dietrich von Hildebrand in 1968, which works in both New York City and Italy. He writes for numerous French, German, Spanish and Italian journals. Many of his writings dealing with the relationship between Church and society throughout history can be found on a website entitled For the Whole Christ (jcrao.freeshell.org) - a name taken from the writings of St. Augustine to describe the character of the Mystical Body and its consequences for human life as a whole. Perhaps the most important of his works are Removing the Blindfold (Remnant Press, 1999; second, revised edition, The Angelus Press, 2014)), which discusses Catholic rediscovery of their own heritage in the post-French revolutionary era, and Americanism and the Collapse of the Church in the United States (Roman Forum Press, 1995). Black Legends and the Light of the World (Remnant Press) was published in 2012. Dr. Rao is also editor of Luther and His Progeny: 500 Years of Protestantism and Its Consequences for Church, State, and Society (Angelico Press, 2017). A Centenary Meditation on a Quest for “Purification” Gone Mad was published by Arouca Press in 2018. Arouca Press is in the process of publishing seven volumes of his collected works. He is married and lives in Manhattan with his wife. He has three grown children.