It is with heavy hearts that CCA announces the passing of our former Director, Glenmary Father John Rausch.

Fr. John Sebastian Rausch died the morning of Sunday, Feb. 9. He was 75. John was a native of Philadelphia and served as a Glenmary missioner for 53 years. With a degree in economics from the University of Notre Dame, John’s activism and writing on behalf of the Appalachian region were well known among the faith-based environmentalist movement and beyond. Over the years, he served in positions with the Commission on Religion in Appalachia (CORA), Appalachian Ministries Resource Center (AMERC), Christians for the Mountains, and various diocesan bodies, most recently the Laudato Si’ Commission of the Diocese of Lexington.

John served as Director of the Catholic Committee of Appalachia from 2005 to 2013.

In the course of his ministry in Appalachia, John regularly led a tour that he named the “Pilgrimage to the Holy Land of Appalachia” and co-led an annual retreat on Cherokee Spirituality. He was also an award-winning columnist, writing about Catholic social teaching and other topics.

John was named a “Teacher of Peace” in 2007 by Pax Christi USA, and in 2016 he received CCA’s Bishop Sullivan Peace and Justice Award.

Michael Iafrate, co-coordinator of CCA, said of Rausch, “John embodied the vision of the Appalachian pastoral letters by being, quite simply, a living pastoral letter. John had Laudatio Si' in his heart well before many of us, so much so that when I first read Francis' encyclical, I wondered whether he had John whispering in his ear as he wrote. He showed us the gentleness of what it means to care for God's creation, as well as the fierceness of what it means to defend the oppressed.

“During a time when Catholic clergy tend to be apolitical, John wasn't afraid to speak truth to power, whether in the realm of politics or in his own church,” Iafrate said. “He longed for the transformation of the Roman Catholic Church into a community of justice, tried his hardest to live a priesthood of service over clericalism, and wanted to see women take their place at the table of sacramental ministry. Rest in peace, John, in the fullness of God's garden.”

Memorials may be made to Glenmary Home Missioners, P.O. Box 465618, Cincinnati, OH 45246-5618.

A wake service will take place Tuesday, February 18 at 7:00 p.m. at St. Matthias Catholic Church, 1050 W. Kemper Rd., Cincinnati, Ohio. The funeral Mass will take place Wednesday, February 19 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Matthias, followed by burial at Gate of Heaven Cemetery and a luncheon at St. Matthias.

Eternal rest grant unto John, O God, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.

John was profiled by Al Jazeera in 2015. Click here to view the video.

Read “A Priest Takes on the Coal Industry” by Dwight Billings, Kate Black and Kathi Kern here.