A Mass of Christian Burial for Father James Swetnam, SJ, was to be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 10, at the St. Louis University High School Chapel of the Beloved Disciple. Father Swetnam died April 27 in Florissant. He was 97 years old, a Jesuit for 79 years and a priest for 66 years.
A St. Louis native and graduate of St. Louis University High School, James Swetnam was born March 18, 1928, to Henry H. and Helen M. Luth Swetnam.
He entered the Society of Jesus at St. Stanislaus Seminary in Florissant on Aug. 8, 1945, and pronounced first vows on Aug. 15, 1947. He was ordained a priest on June 18, 1958, at St. Mary’s College in St. Marys, Kansas, where he was studying theology. He professed his final vows on Aug. 15, 1962, at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem.
Father Swetnam’s life was dedicated to studying and teaching God’s word. He earned a doctorate in sacred Scripture and the New Testament at the University of Oxford. He earned three licentiates: in sacred Scripture (Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome), theology (St. Mary’s College) and philosophy (Saint Louis University). Saint Louis University also bestowed upon him a master’s degree in philosophy and a bachelor’s degree in Greek.
As a Jesuit in formation, his first assignment was at Regis High School in Denver, where he taught Latin, Greek and elocution. Once he had completed his graduate studies, he returned to the Pontifical Biblical Institute (the Biblicum) in Rome to teach Greek and edit the school’s publications and later serve as an administrator. Except for three years while studying in Oxford and a year’s sabbatical later on, he was a scholar there from 1962 to 2010 and held almost every academic and community position at the school. He was proficient in languages, including Italian, German, French, Spanish, Latin, Greek and Hebrew.
Father Swetnum estimated that over his half-century at the Biblicum, he educated about 1,500 students from 85 countries in introductory Greek.
At times he also taught at Mother Teresa’s Roman novitiate, and he assisted with the composition of her congregation’s constitutions. By the time he left Italy, he had also done pastoral work during 50 Holy Weeks in 50 different dioceses in all the provinces of the country (including Sardinia and Sicily).
At the age of 82, he moved to Jesuit Hall in St. Louis. As “professor in residence,” he taught, gave retreats and continued his writing. He continued to instruct through two websites. He served for four years as a part-time resident at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. He moved with other Jesuits to St. Ignatius Hall in Florissant in 2024.
Father Swetnam’s great apostolic drive was powered by a strong devotional life. He always placed the Mass at the center of his life, and often of his studies, too. As he wrote, “The Eucharist will always be the heart of what it means to believe that Christ is really with us always.”
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister Anne (James) McCarthy. He is survived by his sister Caroline (John) Kelleher, nephew Mark McCarthy and his brothers in the Society of Jesus.
Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery.
