Fr. John Melnick, known in Religion as Fr. John Stone of the Holy Cross, was born on February 28th, 1960 in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada to Edward and Beverly Melnick. He took great pleasure in sharing his fond childhood memories of being an altar boy prior to the pre-conciliar liturgy, as well as stories about the Catholic nuns who taught him in grade school.

While in college, Fr John was invited by a friend to visit a monastery in Nova Scotia. Continual visits to Monastery, Nova Scotia awakened in him an awareness of a restlessness in his heart that could only be satisfied by a life seeking intimacy and union with Our Lord. Fr. John entered the Order of St. Augustine and completed his Novitiate in Monastery, NS, taking his Religious name from St. John Stone, OSA, making his First Profession on August 13, 1983. He made his Solemn Profession on May 13th, 1986, was ordained a Deacon on May 16th, 1986, and ordained a Priest of Jesus Christ on June 14th, 1986 by Bishop Robert Clune, whom he always mentioned in the “Memento” for the Deceased at Mass.

Fr. John was sent to Rome in 1988 to study at the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas to prepare for future assignments of theology professor, Novice Master, and Seminary Rector. While in Rome, he was hired by Paul Augustin Cardinal Mayer to work for the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei. He returned to Canada in late 1989, and in 1993 became Rector of St. Joseph’s Seminary in Toronto and was on the faculty of St. Augustine’s Seminary.

In 1996, Fr. John began teaching at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Elmhurst, PA for the Fraternity of St. Peter, serving as acting-Rector for a time. It was during this time that he met Br. Tom Akers and Fr. Peter Jaramillo, founders of the Society of St. Augustine, a new Religious community born from the Augustinian Recollects in Kansas City, KS. In 1998, Fr. John moved to the Diocese of Scranton (PA) where he would eventually incardinate and do ministry as a diocesan priest until 2009.

In 2009, Fr. John moved to the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas to join the Society of St. Augustine, renewed his Religious Profession on August 28th, 2009, and began teaching at Donnelly College where in 2013, he would be made Vice President of Spirituality and Mission. At Donnelly College, Fr. John served as Chair of the Theology and Philosophy Departments, and as head of Campus Ministry, worked hard to preserve its Catholic identity as well as aid the success of many first-generation college graduates.

In June 2015, Fr. John was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, causing him to retire early from Donnelly College in 2020. He subsequently departed the Society of St. Augustine. He spent his retirement researching his options for a lung transplant, visiting long-time friends, and forming other young men in the richness of the traditional Augustinian charism and traditional Catholic faith.

Early in the morning on December 8th, 2022, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Fr. John was admitted to the ICU, having tested positive for COVID-19. He tested negative on January 3rd, 2023, but was still ineligible for a transplant. Shortly thereafter, his kidneys began to fail and his blood pressure began to weaken. Fr. John passed away on the evening of January 15th, 2023.

Fr. John dedicated his retirement and last years of his life to his final attempt at establishing a monastic community of traditional Catholic men that would live an authentic form of the traditional Augustinian charism according to the Rule of St. Augustine, thus founding the Oblates of St. Augustine. Fr. John's mission in this life has ended, but his work continues through the community he founded. This campaign is for those who wish to continue to support the work to which Fr. John dedicated his life.

In Memoriam - Fr. John Stone

By Oblates of St. Augustine

In Memoriam - Fr. John Stone