The prize, awarded in recognition of his doctoral thesis, Understanding St. Thomas on Analogy, will be bestowed at a special audience in Rome on January 27, 2010, by either Pope Benedict XVI or by the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. 
 
Dr. Mortensen, who was notified of his good fortune by Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, Secretary of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas, is both excited and humbled by the award. "It's a tremendous honor," he said. "To be selected from such an outstanding group of candidates as those considered by the Pontifical Academies is a rare privilege."
 
The Prize of the Pontifical Academies, as described by the Vatican website, is awarded to a person - a young artist or academic - or an institution, whose research, work or activity contributes significantly to the development of religious studies, Christian humanism and its artistic expressions. This is the first Pontifical Academies' prize to be awarded since the papacy of John Paul II; the last such prize was awarded in 2004. Covering the years 2005-2008, this will be Pope Benedict's first such award.

 

Dr. Mortensen completed his doctorate in philosophy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. In his thesis, he approached the complex idea of analogy as it is presented by St. Thomas Aquinas. ”My approach was to go back to the beginning, and to study the texts of Aquinas themselves, building on those texts as a foundation,” explained Dr. Mortensen.

 

That same foundational thinking is what attracted him to a faculty position at Wyoming Catholic College. “The mission and curriculum of the College is built around the principle of a return to the sources; returning to the book of nature, to the Scriptures, and to the great works of civilization,” he added. Dr. Mortensen was one of the founding faculty members at Wyoming Catholic, which offers a classical liberal arts, Great Books program.

 

The College’s President, Fr. Robert Cook, said he was very pleased by the award, but not at all surprised.  “John is an exceptionally bright professor and admired by his colleagues and by our students,” Fr. Cook said.  “We knew that John would contribute greatly to our College when he first joined the faculty, and he has certainly met all of our hopes and expectations.  We are proud that Rome has chosen to highlight his contributions to the Faith.”

 

A native of Boise, Idaho, Dr. Mortensen attended Thomas Aquinas College for undergraduate studies, receiving his BA in 1997.  He spent the next ten years in Europe, where he studied theology and philosophy in Austria, Oxford, and Rome.  From 2002 to 2007, he was Assistant Professor at the International Theological Institute in Gaming, Austria, teaching courses in logic, natural philosophy, metaphysics, and theology.  He is currently working on his doctoral dissertation in theology from the University of Freiburg in Switzerland, in addition to teaching philosophy and theology at Wyoming Catholic College. He and his wife Beth have four children. (December 11, 2009)