Requiescat in Pace Fr. Schaffner

REQUIESCAT IN PACE
17 September 2009

Please remember in your prayers Rev. William E. Schaffner, SJ, who died on 15 September
2009 at Manresa Hall. He was a Jesuit for 73 years and a priest for 61 years.

The viewing and Mass of Christian Burial was held last Monday, September 21, 2009 at the Manresa Hall - Jesuit Residence, Saint Joseph's University.

Letters of condolence may be sent to:

Jeff Klug (grandnephew)
6616 Charles Street
Towson, MD 21204

John Schaffner (brother)
391 Love Court
Carmel, IN 46032

To read how one Jesuit remembered him please click The Spirit blows where it will , the blog of George Bur, SJ.

The Rev. William E. Schaffner, S.J., 91, a Jesuit for 73 years and a priest for 61 years, died Tuesday at Manresa Hall, Merion.

Born April 11, 1918, in Wheeling, W.Va., he was the son of the late Irwin T. Schaffner and Frances Lyonette. Following graduation from Central Catholic High School in Wheeling, he entered the Society of Jesus on July 30, 1935, and took his first vows July 31, 1937. After Juniorate (college) studies at the Novitiate at St. Isaac Jogues in Wernersville, 1937-39, he was sent to study philosophy at Inisfada, N.Y., 1939-40, and West Baden College, West Baden Springs, Ind., 1940-42.

Following his assignment as a Jesuit scholastic to teach English at St. Joseph's Prep, Philadelphia, from 1942 to 1945, he pursued theological studies at Woodstock College in Maryland, 1945-49, where he was ordained to the priesthood on June 20, 1948. From 1949-50, Father Schaffner completed his Tertianship at the Jesuit Martyrs Shrine in Auriesville, N.Y., and made his final profession in the Society of Jesus Aug. 15, 1952, at the University of Scranton.

Father Schaffner began his priestly ministry at the University of Scranton, where he was professor of religion from 1950 to 1956. He then held the position of professor of theology at Loyola College, Baltimore, from 1956 to 1964 and retreat director at Loyola Retreat House, Faulkner, Md., from 1964 to 1967. Father Schaffer returned to Baltimore to engage in pastoral ministry and retreat work at St. Ignatius Church, 1967-71, at Corpus Church, 1971-74, and then as chaplain at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, 1974-76. He served as a pastoral minister in Wernersville, 1977-78; Avalon, N.J., 1978-79; and Baltimore, 1979-93, where he resided at Wheeler House.

Due to failing health, Father Schaffner moved to the Jesuit Community, Wernersville, in 1993, where he prayed for the Church and the Society until 2008, when he was transferred to Manresa Hall, Merion, where he remained until his death. Surviving are his brother, John "Jack" Schaffner and sister-in-law, Bonnie, Indianapolis, as well as numerous nieces and nephews, and numerous grandnieces and grandnephews.