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Richard F. McCaslin (Father)

May 13, 2014

Father McCaslin learned the Korean language and culture and held a succession of important positions as the new mission grew into an independent region.

Richard F. McCaslin

Father McCaslin learned the Korean language and culture and held a succession of important positions as the new mission grew into an independent region.

Father Richard F. McCaslin, SJ, died on May 13, 2014, at St. Camillus Jesuit Community in Wauwatosa, Wis. He was 79 years old, a Jesuit for 61 years, and a priest for 48 years.

Born in Omaha, Neb. on July 16, 1934, Fr. McCaslin attended Holy Angels Grade School and Creighton Preparatory School in Omaha before entering the Society at Florissant, Mo. on August 8, 1952. He completed the usual Jesuit course of studies at St. Stanislaus Seminary, Saint Louis University, and St. Mary’s College. Father McCaslin was ordained at St. Mary’s on June 9, 1965. He did tertianship in Seoul, Korea. After two years of studies at the Gregorian University in Rome, Fr. McCaslin professed his final vows at Sogang University on August 15, 1973.

For almost 20 years, Fr. McCaslin served in Korea. He learned the language and the culture and held a succession of important positions as the new mission grew into an independent region and as a small Sogang College developed into a major university. After his return to the United States, Fr. McCaslin served as socius to the provincial (1986–89), director of the Oshkosh Jesuit Retreat House on Lake Winnebago (1989–2001), and superior of the Creighton Prep Jesuit Community (2001–04).  From 2004 to 2010, he worked in South Dakota, residing at the Sioux Spiritual Center, and later lived at Holy Rosary Mission as he helped direct the permanent diaconate and lay ministry programs of the Rapid City Diocese.  Declining health led to his moving to the St. Camillus Jesuit Community in 2010.

Trained as a theologian, Fr. McCaslin’s heart was not so much in research but in teaching and especially in applying theological insights to giving the Spiritual Exercises. All his life, whatever other responsibilities he had, Fr. McCaslin served as a spiritual director and a retreat director.

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