Father Leo Weber, SJ, is celebrating a remarkable anniversary this year: 80 years in the Society of Jesus! The Denver native was born in 1926 and entered the Society of Jesus in 1943. He currently prays for the Church and the Society of Jesus as a member of the new St. Ignatius Hall Jesuit community in Florissant, Missouri.

Father Weber spent much of his Jesuit ministry in the Central American country of Belize, first arriving there in 1950 to teach at St. John’s College in Belize City. Following his graduate studies and ordination in 1956, he returned to serve as assistant director of elementary schools for the Catholic Presbytery, 1959-63. He was named president of St. John’s College in 1963 and served in that position, as well as rector of the Jesuit community, until 1971.

Starting in 1971, Fr. Weber served in a series of administrative positions for the former Missouri Province, including provincial assistant for international apostolates and province planning and provincial assistant for formation. From 1973 to 1979, he was the Missouri Province provincial. Following a brief sabbatical, he served the province as coordinator for retirement and convalescent care.

He moved to Denver in 1981, to serve for four years as the rector for the Jesuit community at Regis High School.

In 1984, Fr. Weber returned to Belize City to serve as the president of St. John’s College and director of the college’s extension program. He relocated to Punta Gorda, Belize, in 1994 to serve as the parish pastor until 2002.

Father Weber returned to his hometown and his alma mater in 2002 to serve as assistant to the president of Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colorado, (2002 – 2005) and then as chaplain at Arrupe Jesuit High School in Denver (2005 – 2017). He moved to the Jesuit Hall community in St. Louis in 2017.

Father Weber earned a bachelor’s degree and licentiate in philosophy from Saint Louis University. He also earned a licentiate in sacred theology from St. Mary’s College in Kansas.