Sr. Mary John Mananzan, O.S.B. is a Missionary Benedictine nun, educator, theologian, author, and activist, who helped develop an Asian feminist theology of liberation. She passionately served as prioress of the Missionary Benedictine Sisters in the Manila Priory, as former president of St. Scholastica’s College (SSC) Manila for 6 years and Dean for 18 years, and as national chairperson of the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines. She co-founded GABRIELA, a federation of women’s organizations and served as its national chairperson for 18 years and in 2009, she was conferred as Gabriela Chairperson emerita. On the same year, she founded St. Scholastica’s Manila’s Institute of Women Studies.

In 2011 she received a citation as one of the 100 inspiring persons in the world, Women Deliver (given on the 100 years of the International Women’s Day celebration). Last year, she was named as one of the 50 Remarkable Women of the World by an International Catholic Journal. She was also conferred with the 2022 Pro Deo Et Patria Award by the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) in recognition of her commitment and promotion of social justice as part of her evangelization of the Word of God to the faithful. Last year, she was also the recipient of the Pauline Jaricot Prize as the Pontifical Mission Societies or MISSIO Internationalis that recognized Sr. Mary John for innovating to support and encourage others in the spirit of charity.

Sr. Mary John earned her PhD in Linguistic Philosophy from  the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. She also has a degree in Missiology at the Wilhelmsuniversitaet in Munster, Germany. She studied at St. Scholastica’s College in Manila from high school through college, graduating with an AB-BSE degree, major in history.

She is currently the Vice President for External Affairs of St. Scholastica’s Manila and still the current Executive Director of the Institute of Women Studies. Indeed, she is still thriving to carry on her mission and purpose beyond any societal boundaries and expectations— as her journey continues as the Chairperson of CGPH Incorporated, driven and committed to co-create safer cyberspace for Filipino children and youth.