Remembering Fr. John Folzenlogen, SJ, Priest and Educator

April 7, 2025

Father John N. Folzenlogen, SJ, died March 31, 2025, in Florissant, Missouri. He was 89 years old, a Jesuit for 72 years and a priest for 59 years.

Remembered by his Jesuit brothers as kind and joyful and as a good man who brought out the good in others, his life will be celebrated in a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Ignatius Hall at Garden Villas North, 4503 Parker Road in Florissant, at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 12. A visitation will begin at 1:00 p.m. in the same location. The funeral Mass will be livestreamed at bit.ly/folzenlogen-funeral. He will be buried at the Jesuit cemetery at St. Charles College in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, on Wednesday, April 16, at 2:00 p.m.

Strake Jesuit College Prep in Houston is hosting a Memorial Mass for Fr. Folzenlogen on Thursday, May 1, at 9:05 a.m. You can watch live at https://youtube.com/live/8MEbC1xZIxk?feature=share.

There will also be a memorial Mass for Fr. Folzenlogen at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory School in Houston on Thursday, May 1, at 9:00 a.m.

John Folzenlogen was born in Dallas on April 29, 1935, to M.C. and Christine Hibbard Folzenlogen. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by five siblings: Daniel, David, Gordon, Diane (Stanley), and Pat (Murphy). He is survived by his brother Paul and Paul’s wife Jeanie.

Following his graduation from Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas in 1952, he entered the Society of Jesus at St. Charles College in Grand Coteau on July 30, 1952, and pronounced his first vows on July 31, 1954. He was ordained a priest on June 7, 1965, at St. Joseph Church in Mobile, Alabama, and pronounced final vows in the Society of Jesus at Jesuit High School in Shreveport, Louisiana, on February 2, 1971.

Father Folzenlogen devoted most of his ministerial life to the apostolate of secondary education. He spent 15 years teaching biology and theology at Jesuit High in Shreveport, Louisiana (1967-82), now known as Loyola College Prep, and for 31 years, he was a beloved Jesuit at Strake Jesuit in Houston (1982-2013), first teaching science, then in the last decade concentrating on service to students as a counselor. During this time, he also provided sacramental ministry at the school and in many churches in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

When he left Houston, he served in pastoral ministry at Xavier Jesuit Center in Denver (2013-15).

Declining health dictated a move to the Fusz Pavilion in St. Louis (2015-22), followed by St. Ignatius Hall (2023-25).

Father Folzenlogen was beloved by students; he was always kind and gentle with them, and they found him to be consistently caring, friendly, thoughtful and encouraging. Though introverted by nature, he enjoyed the kids very much and would play pick-up basketball with them after school. He loved to joke and laugh with them. He was very involved in freshman and Kairos retreats and could spend hours hearing confessions there. His favorite thing in the world was to preside at Mass for the students; his creative and moving homilies could catch his listeners off guard at the early morning hour!

Father Folzenlogen was a passionate supporter of social justice and always wanted our nation to do a better job of caring for the poor and immigrants. He was especially kind to Jesuit regents and young priests and looked out for them as solicitously as he did for the students. He loved filling in at local parishes to celebrate Mass and was a very fine preacher. A frequent theme of his was that God commands us to be joyful and grateful, and, for his part, he was good at laughing at himself. His whimsical spirit and joyful attitude toward ministry were typified by a comment one day just before student Mass, when he said with a smile, “I can’t wait to hear what I’m about to say!”

Father Folzenlogen studied philosophy at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama (1956-59) and then earned a master’s degree in biology at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York (1959-60). For regency, he was missioned back to his alma mater, Dallas Jesuit (1960-62). He was missioned to St. Mary’s College in St. Marys, Kansas, for theology studies (1962-66), where he earned a licentiate in sacred theology.

As we thank God for the gift of John’s kind and joyful service to generations of God’s people, let us remember him in our prayers.

Memorial gifts may be made to the USA Central and Southern Province of the Society of Jesus at 4511 West Pine Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63108 or through this website.

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