Fr. Gary Menard, SJ, a dedicated Jesuit educator, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his priestly ordination this year. Father Menard currently serves at Regis Jesuit High School as chaplain, teacher and superior of the Jesuit community there.
Father Menard has served at Jesuit high schools throughout the USA Central and Southern Province, including more than a decade of service in schools in the Cristo Rey network. He began his ministry in Jesuit secondary education during his regency at Regis Jesuit in the early 1990s, where he taught math and computer literacy. After his priestly ordination in 1999, Fr. Menard was missioned to Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri, where he taught math and served as director of pastoral activities until 2006. After tertianship in Boston and El Salvador, he moved to Denver, where he served at Arrupe Jesuit High School as assistant principal until 2017. From 2017 to 2019 he was chaplain and dean of academics at Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School of Houston, before returning to Rockhurst High School in Kansas City until 2023. While in Kansas City, Fr. Menard also served as a board member for the Ignatian Spirituality Center.
In his current assignment at Regis Jesuit High School, Fr. Menard ministers to the school community as chaplain, math teacher and member of the board of trustees. In addition, he serves the Jesuit community as superior, attending to the pastoral care of his brother Jesuits.
Born in New Orleans, Fr. Menard was raised in St. Louis, graduating from St. Louis University High School in 1982 and Saint Louis University in 1986. After completing a master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1988, he entered the Jesuit novitiate in Denver and pronounced his first vows in 1990. Father Menard completed his first studies at Saint Louis University in 1992 and his theological studies at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley in 1998. In 2001, he earned a master’s in Catholic school administration from the University of San Francisco.
