50 Years a Jesuit
A Jesuit for 50 years, Br. Don Schlichter, SJ, has served in pastoral ministry in hospitals, Jesuit communities and a retreat house. Born in East St. Louis, Illinois, in 1949, to a military family, Br. Schlichter was raised in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, where he attended schools for the blind. Prior to entering religious life, he owned and operated a coffee shop in Laramie, Wyoming.
Baptized at age five, Br. Schlichter felt the call to religious life from a young age. He entered the Jesuit Novitiate in Florissant, Missouri, in 1975, and was missioned to ministry with adults who were wards of the state. Reflecting on these formative experiences as a novice, he said: “In time, I would come to love and care for about 20 wonderful people. In them, I found the Lord.”
Brother Schlichter pronounced first vows at Blessed Sacrament Church in Denver in 1977. During first studies, he obtained a certificate in food management at Forest Park Community College in St. Louis. He used his background in food service during his regency at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City from 1978 to 1981, where he assisted in the kitchen and coordinated the concessions stand during school events. He also served at Sacred Heart Jesuit Retreat House in Sedalia, Colorado, (1981-1985, 1986-1987), managing a dining room serving 40 retreatants.
Following his tertianship in Oakland, California (1985-1986), Br. Schlichter was invited to pronounce final vows in the Society of Jesus in 1987. He then studied pastoral care and spiritual direction at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, and completed a two-year program in Clinical and Pastoral Education (CPE) at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in St. Louis. He specialized in chemical dependency and spinal cord injury in his CPE program, obtaining certifications in both areas.
This marked a shift for Br. Schlichter to full-time pastoral ministry in hospitals. He directed the pastoral care department at Good Samaritan Hospital in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, in the Diocese of Belleville, from 1990 to 1993. There, he created programs to support staff members, patients and their families. In 1993, he returned to St. Louis to be closer to his Jesuit community and to work at the Veterans Administration Hospital as chaplain and part-time pastoral minister until 2002. From 2002 to 2010, he was missioned to pastoral ministry at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Denver, where he worked with hospice patients and their families.
Brother Schlichter was honored with a “Brother of the Year” award by the former Missouri Province in 2007. “I felt honored, supported and appreciated for my work in pastoral care,” he said.
In 2010, Br. Schlichter began serving in pastoral ministry to his Jesuit brothers at the Fusz Pavilion in St. Louis, where he was assistant to the director of the Jesuit retirement facility. “Each day, I visited with them, helped those who could get to Mass, and brought the Eucharist to those who could not leave their rooms. Once a year, I would give a preached retreat in our chapel. Many of the men would attend. In time I won the trust of many – we were all brothers in the Lord,” said Br. Schlichter.
From 2015 to 2021, Br. Schlichter was missioned to the Xavier Jesuit Center in Denver, where he managed the community kitchen and assisted the Jesuit Volunteer Corps as a spiritual director. When the Xavier Jesuit Community moved to St. Louis – first to Jesuit Hall in 2021, then to the St. Ignatius Hall Community in 2023 – Br. Schlichter accompanied them, continuing to offer pastoral care to his Jesuit brothers.
“Looking back over the course of my life, and at the many challenges, I realize that the Lord was always there, loving and protecting me,” said Br. Schlichter. He continues in a ministry of prayer for the Church and the Society and service to the St. Ignatius Hall Jesuit Community today.
