Father John Waters, SJ, a Jesuit priest who has dedicated his life to pastoral ministry in Belize and the United States, this year celebrates the 60th anniversary of his ordination.
After graduating from Regis Jesuit High School in 1951, he entered the Society of Jesus at St. Stanislaus Seminary in what was then the Missouri Province. Early in his ministry, Fr. Waters taught at St. John’s College in Belize City, Belize. He served as a missionary from 1966 to 1971, until he was assigned to Rome, where he was a secretary to the USA assistant at the Jesuit Curia.
He returned to pastoral ministry in the United States in 1975 for a three-year assignment as pastor of Loyola Church in Denver. In 1978 he was again sent to Belize as associate pastor and then pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Dangriga. Father Waters worked with refugees in Belize City and Belmopan, Belize.
From 1985 through 1992, he was assigned to St. Louis, where he served the former Missouri Province as provincial assistant for pastoral ministries, rector of the Bellarmine House of Studies and director of the senior care facility. From 1993 to 1997 he was involved in Hispanic ministry in Denver and Kansas. He also served in pastoral ministry in Denver, including as chaplain at St. Joseph Hospital and at the Xavier Jesuit Center, from 2002 to 2020.
Since 2020, Fr. Waters has been praying for the Church and Society, currently at St. Ignatius Hall in St. Louis.
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