John Paul II Prize for Catholic-Jewish Studies – Award Celebration

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The John Paul II Prize for Catholic-Jewish Studies is a joint initiative of the Institute for Ecumenical Studies of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas and the John Paul II Center for Interreligious Dialogue, in collaboration with the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. The prize aims to encourage and acknowledge the Licentiate thesis or Doctoral research that tackles topics related to Catholic-Jewish dialogue and thus support students who are engaged in this academic endeavor.

Join us as we celebrate this year’s awardee, Dr. Fr. Jackson Johnson. Father Jackson was born in the multi-religious context of Kerala (India). His interest in Judaism and Jewish-Christian relations began during his theological studies in the seminary. During his doctoral studies in Rome, his interest in Judaism deepened through his Licentiate studies at the Cardinal Bea Centre (Gregorian University) and constant interaction with Jewish scholars.

Father Jackson is a 2022-2023 Russell Berrie Fellow, speaks more than six modern languages, and is also gifted in reading in ancient Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. He started a PhD in Jewish-Christian dialogue at the Angelicum in February 2023.