This year celebrating the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, Fr. Wayne Herpin, SJ, has dedicated his life to pastoral ministry, teaching and chaplaincy. Currently missioned to Mobile, Alabama, Fr. Herpin lives in the Spring Hill Jesuit Community and serves multiple parishes in the Archdiocese of Mobile.
Born in Dallas, Fr. Herpin graduated from Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas in 1962 and entered the novitiate at St. Charles College in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, that same year. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 13, 1974.
Father Herpin taught at Jesuit high schools in El Paso, Texas; Dallas, New Orleans and Houston. He also participated in the Catholic chaplain corps at the Texas Medical Center in Houston and served as chaplain in Florida and Alabama.
In 1991, Fr. Herpin moved to parish ministry. He has since served in parishes in Florida, Texas, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Alabama. In 2023, he completed five years of service as pastor and administrator of St. Cecelia Catholic Church in Jasper, Alabama, in the diocese of Birmingham.
Read Father Herpin’s Reflection on 60 Years as a Jesuit from 2022:
The Society of Jesus has given me the means and the opportunity to minister to the rich and the poor, the powerful and the oppressed, the young and the old, the beautiful and the neglected, the wise and the worldly, the sophisticated and the simple, the haughty and the hurting, the intellectual and the challenged; but mostly to just ordinary folks.
In the novitiate my novice master often talked about St. Ignatius’ Magis or “the more.” Each of you has taught me something about myself and has helped me to come to understand that “the more” is not only about quantity, but maybe more importantly about quality. And each of you has shown me Jesus’ limitless and perfect love.
I thank you for letting me be part of your life. I pray that each day you feel Jesus’ limitless and perfect love for you and that you will discover how he calls you personally to better share his love with others in your life.
