Fr. John (Anthony) Prah of Holy Mary was born on April 9, 1917, in Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania to parents Anton and Agnes (nee Stopar) Prah. He attended the Minor Seminary of Our Lady, Holy Hill, Wisconsin, was clothed in the Carmelite habit on September 3, 1935; made his simple profession on September 4, 1936, and was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop J. M. Corrigan in Washington, DC on May 28, 1942.

Father John was educated in the seminaries of the province and the international college of the order in Rome. After completing his basic seminary education, he did postgraduate work in the Catholic University of American in Washington, DC and at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For fourteen years, Fr. John taught in the Houses of Philosophy and Theology of the order. Beginning in 1964 he taught in the Philosophy Department at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio and later went on to become a Professor of Philosophy at Gannon College in Erie, Pennsylvania where he was granted tenure in 1972.

Fr. John died on March 12, 1979, and is buried at St. Mary’s Nativity Cemetery in North Union Township, Pennsylvania.