John Ashman

John was born in the south-east of England, in the county of Kent, the youngest of three children. At the age of 12 he moved with his parents to Fife, in Scotland. After a lacklustre academic performance he left school at the age of 16 and found employment in the local naval dockyard. From there he gradually rose through the ranks of Government service and rather than continue with his career, after returning from an overseas posting in Malta in 1979, he resigned and commenced theological studies and training for the Anglican ministry. After some years serving as a priest in the Church of England, John was received into full communion with the Catholic Church and subsequently ordained in 1996. He now lives a solitary life of contemplation, study, writing in the heart of England, inspired by the Rule of St Benedict and sustained by the Divine Office and sacraments of the Church.