Death of John Wijngaards, The Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research

Miriam Duignan, Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the The Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research (WICR) has informed Tony Flannery, Patron of The WICR of the death of the Institute’s founder John (Hans) Wijngaards, RIP.

“I am so sorry to inform you that John Wijngaards died this past Thursday in hospital close to his home.

Hans was admitted on December 19th and was battling a lung infection. We hoped against odds that he could regain strength and survive but it was not to be and he made a peaceful and comfortable exit from this world on the afternoon of January 2nd. He was 89 years old.

Thank you for your friendship and support to Hans and the Wijngaards Institute throughout the years. We are honoured to have you as a Patron and will keep you updated on how we continue to grow the Institute into the future.

Hans’ latest book was officially published on December 18th. It’s a fitting, final contribution to the campaign to end the misogyny blocking women’s ordination. We shall continue his mission!”

https://www.wijngaardsinstitute.com/who-we-are

John Wijngaards 1935 – 2025

Sadly John (Hans) Wijngaards died on 2 January 2025 and is now united with his beloved wife Jackie. For over 4 decades they worked for the equality of women and LGBTQ+ people in the Catholic Church. 

Hans’ 1998 press statement about his public resignation from the priesthood because of the discrimination against women being excluded from ordination is still a powerful call to arms today to all Catholics: https://www.johnwijngaards.com/publicity/

Hans was born in 1935 in Indonesia and as a child spent 4 years in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. In 1959 he was ordained as a Mill Hill Missionary, whom he led as Vicar General for 6 years. He worked as a missionary in India where he first met Jackie. In 1998 he resigned as a priest and in 2000 he married Jackie Clackson. He was one of the main speakers at the First Women’s Ordination Worldwide Conference in Dublin in 2001. With Jackie he set up the Housetop Institute in London in 1982 for Faith formation and promoting Women Priests. He has published many books, his most recent being “Why Christ Rejects All Church Prejudice Against Women” (December 2024). 

He gave so much to the Women’s Ordination movement, speaking as a priest, a theologian, and a married man. The legacy of Hans and Jackie will live on in the work of the Wijngaards Institute.  https://www.wijngaardsinstitute.com/

Colm Holmes, Chair, We Are Church International 

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