75 Years a Jesuit

When 18-year-old Richard Vogt entered St. Stanislaus Seminary in Florissant, Missouri, on August 8, 1950, Harry Truman was the United States president and Nat King Cole’s Mona Lisa was at the top of the music charts. During his 75 years as a Jesuit, he has borne witness to a lot of change in the world, while faithfully serving in education, pastoral and Hispanic ministries. He currently serves as a pastoral minister at St. Ignatius Hall Jesuit community in Florissant, Missouri, not far from where he entered the Society of Jesus all those years ago.

Father Vogt began his ministry in 1957 as a teacher of Spanish and English at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri. Following graduate studies and his ordination to the priesthood on October 26, 1963, he taught Latin, Spanish and English to students at Regis Jesuit High School in Denver for one year. He then taught Spanish at St. Louis University High School (1966-75) and De Smet Jesuit High School (1976-83) in St. Louis.

He served for one year at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Kansas City, Missouri, before beginning pastoral ministry to Hispanics, first at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, then in the Diocese of Gary, Indiana (1985 – 1992) and then as associate pastor at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Chicago.

He returned to St.  Louis as associate pastor of St. Francis Xavier College Church (1998-2001), then at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish (2001-09) and Casa de Salud (2010-12), before beginning an assignment as pastoral minister in 2012. He was a staff member at the Institute of Jesuit Sources from 2013 to 2014.

A graduate of St. Louis University High School, Fr. Vogt holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Saint Louis University, as well as a master’s and licentiate in Spanish from the same school.