Remembering Jesuit Father George M. Anderson

August 6, 2020 – Fr. George M. Anderson, SJ, was called to eternal life on August 4, 2020. Fr. Anderson died at Manresa Hall, Philadelphia, Pa. It was not related to the coronavirus. He was born on September 27, 1933 in Rockville, Md., entered the Society of Jesus at the Novitiate of St. Isaac Jogues, Wernersville, Pa., on September 7, 1968, and was ordained to the priesthood on June 2, 1973 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, Md. He pronounced his Final Vows at Nativity Parish, New York, N.Y., on June 29, 1979.

Before entering the Society of Jesus, Fr. Anderson graduated with a degree in English from Haverford College in Pennsylvania and then received his Master’s in Seminars from the Johns Hopkins University. He also studied for two years at Oxford University in England. As a Jesuit, he studied Philosophy at Loyola College in Maryland and received his Master of Divinity from Woodstock College in Maryland.

Following his ordination, Fr. Anderson served as a prison chaplain at Rikers Island in New York City. He then taught English for two years at the Nativity Mission Center in New York. In 1980, he was assigned to St. Aloysius Church in Washington, D.C., where he served for 14 years, first as associate pastor and then as pastor. In 1994, he became a writer for America Magazine in New York, where he would later become the assistant editor. He stayed at America for 17 years.

Fr. Anderson continued writing after he left America while serving in pastoral ministries for two years at the Jesuit Community of the Immaculate Conception in New York. He spent his later years praying for the Church and the Society of Jesus at the Colombière Jesuit Community in Baltimore and Manresa Hall in Philadelphia. He was 86.

In keeping with public health recommendations due to the coronavirus, the wake and funeral Mass for Fr. Anderson will be private.

The Jesuit Community, the USA East Coast Province of the Society of Jesus and Saint Joseph’s University will host a Memorial Mass on Tuesday, August 11 at 11:30 A.M. for our deceased Jesuits: Frs. George M. Anderson, SJ, Richard Dimler, SJ, Michael Hricko, SJ, Edward Dougherty, SJ, John Lange, SJ, Frank Moan, SJ, John Kelly, SJ, and Dennis McNally, SJ. Physical attendance is limited to invited family members and invited friends. However, faculty, staff and students are invited to join via livestream and join in our remembrance at sju.edu/livestream

BURIAL: Wernersville Jesuit Cemetery, Wernersville, Pa.