John Crean, born in New York City, grew up in Westchester and Southern Connecticut. Educated on the East coast, he graduated from Fairfield Prep and Holy Cross College in Worcester, majoring in German, philosophy, and theology. John then received his master's and doctorate in German at Yale. He taught there, then at the University of Wisconsin, the University of Hawaii and finally at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. John has published, edited, or co-authored numerous textbooks, scholarly articles and books.While teaching in Hawaii, John was also ordained an Episcopal priest. He continued from then on to serve bi-vocationally, holding both ecclesiastical as well as academic positions in Hawaii and Michigan.Since 1980, John has presented and published on the Rule of Benedict, also serving as a coeditor and board member of Magistra: A Journal of Women's Spirituality in History. Appointed scholar-in-residence at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA, John continued to research and publish on ecclesiastical history.In 2020, Church Publishing, Inc. brought out his most recent book, Recovering Benedict, a daily devotional, blending the Rule of Benedict with the principles of twelve-step recovery. John currently resides in the Southern California desert where he continues to write and assist at a local parish.