he Canisius High School community was saddened
by the passing of Rev. John G. Sturm, S.J. ’35 on
September 22, 2012. He was 95 and had just completed
his 75th year as a Jesuit priest.
The Buffalo, NY native was a 1935 graduate of Canisius
High School and played football at Canisius College
before entering the Society of Jesus in 1937. He
was ordained a priest 1950. In 1952, Fr. Sturm was
appointed prefect of discipline at Canisius High School,
a position he held until 1972.
Canisius High School students remember Fr. Sturm
for his strict approach to discipline as he roamed the
halls looking for even the slightest sign of trouble. Yet
the late Tim Russert ’68 called Fr. Sturm the teacher
who influenced him more than any other. In his
best-selling book, “Big Russ & Me,” Russert, who rose
to fame as host of NBC-TV’s “Meet the Press,” told the
story of how Fr. Sturm caught him in the hallway one
day at Canisius when Russert was not supposed to be
out of the classroom. As Russert related, “I said, ‘Father,
I’m really sorry. I’m new here. Please have mercy.’
Fr. Sturm replied, ‘Russert, mercy is for God. I deliver
justice.’” When Russert died in 2008, on Fr. Sturm’s
91st birthday, the Jesuit priest wrote a tribute to him
entitled “The TimRussert I Knew.”
When Fr. Sturm left Canisius, he was assigned to the
Cana-Grace Renewal Center in Alden, NY where he
directedMarriage Encounter, a programof the Catholic
Church to improve communication between husbands
and wives. From there, he began a long-term ministry
at St. Michael’s Church in downtown Buffalo, serving
more than 20 years as associate pastor of the parish.
Renowned for his insightful homilies, Fr. Sturm had
a following of area Catholics who commuted into
downtown to hear him preach and preside at mass
or have him hear their confessions. Members of the
congregation remember Fr. Sturm’s signature closing
of every mass when he would say, “Remember, Jesus
loves you!” Then after stretching out his arms he would
add, “And the neat thing is he always forgives you!”
Fr. Sturm became known as the “downtown priest”
and in 2003, a collection of his essays was published in
a book titled “Father John, the Downtown Priest Says
Life’s a Dance, Not a Dress Rehearsal.”
Fr. Sturm was predeceased by his sister, Sister Noreen
Sturm, OSF, and brother, Herbert Sturm. He is survived
by his sister-in-law, Grace Sturm, and many nieces,
nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. A Mass of
Christian Burial was held at St. Michael’s and Fr. Sturm
was buried at the Jesuit cemetery in Auriesville, NY.
]
In Memoriam
Remembering
Rev. John G. Sturm, S.J. ’35
