Fr. Thomas W. Hoffman, SJ

His life will be celebrated during a Mass of Christian Burial in the chapel of St. Ignatius Hall on Saturday, May 31, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., with visitation beginning at 9:00 a.m. The Mass will be live streamed at bit.ly/fr-hoffman-funeral. He will be buried at Calvary Cemetery immediately following the Mass.

Tom Hoffman was born in the Bronx, New York, on January 21, 1945, to William G. and Alice Jane (Slattery) Hoffman. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his stepmother Joan, his brother Dean, and his half-sister Mary. He is survived by his half-sister Joan DeBlasio and her husband, Jeffrey.

A graduate of Jesuit High School in Tampa, he entered the Society of Jesus on July 30, 1964, at St. Charles College in Grand Coteau, Louisiana. He pronounced his first vows on July 31, 1966, and was ordained a priest on May 29, 1976, at Sacred Heart Church in Tampa. He professed his final vows at Spring Hill College on April 22, 1983.

As a Jesuit in formation, he was missioned to both Jesuit High School and to training in pastoral ministry at Sacred Heart Parish in Tampa. His first assignment as a priest was as director of campus ministry at Spring Hill College (1977-83). He then taught for a year at Jesuit High School in Tampa, before moving to Jesuit High School of New Orleans (1984-2000), where he taught theology and served as moderator or chaplain for a variety of activities, including soccer, baseball, student council and the drama society. These years in education were a high point in his apostolic life.

After a year’s sabbatical (2000-01), he continued pastoral work, mostly in parish settings. He ministered at St. Joseph Church in Long Beach, California, at St. Thomas the Apostle Church and the Newman Center at the University of New Orleans (2002-08), and for many years at St. Jude Parish in Alamogordo, New Mexico, first as associate pastor (2008-15) and then as pastor (2015-21). He ended life praying for the Church and the Society at the St. Alphonsus Rodriguez Pavilion in Grand Coteau and St. Ignatius Hall.

Father Hoffman is recalled as energetic, charming and delightful. He was a good audience for a funny story or anecdote – rarely the teller, but often the listener. He was notorious for the “Golden Shovel” award: when a student misbehaved or failed to do his homework, he would give the boy a small pin with a golden shovel. Even late in life, when someone said something that he did not think was true, Fr. Hoffman would still say, “Oh, give me a shovel!”

Father Hoffman was chaplain at UNO at the time of Hurricane Katrina (2005) and faithfully kept the Catholic Center in operation while the campus was decimated by the storm. He was equally faithful to his parish ministry at St. Jude’s in Alamogordo. He loved the people there and only left when ill health forced him.

He treasured Jesuit companionship. As he wrote in a letter in 1976, “The greatest gift we have in the Society, aside from the genuine love of the Father, is one another; the more we communicate our support, the more we love our God and one another.”

He studied at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, and Loyola University in New Orleans, earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and sociology from the latter. He earned a Master of Divinity, a bachelor’s in sacred theology and a master’s in spirituality at Regis College in Toronto, Canada.

As we thank God for the gift of Fr. Hoffman’s faithful service to the people of God, 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 online at www.JesuitsCentralSouthern.org.