Father Arthur J. Wehr, SJ, Associate pastor of St. Ignatius Loyola Church, Sacramento, died July 4, 2024, in Sacramento. He was 68 years of age, a Jesuit for 44 years, an ordained priest for 34 years.
Arthur John Wehr was born in San Francisco October 5, 1955, to Arthur J. Wehr, Jr. and Margaret Ann (Peaslee) Wehr. Born into a military family, he and his six siblings moved frequently. He attended schools in Okinawa, North Carolina, Kansas, Texas, and Germany, as well as California. He graduated from the University of San Francisco in 1977 and entered the California Province Jesuit Novitiate in Santa Barbara in 1979.
Fr. Wehr continued his Jesuit studies at Fordham University in New York, the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, and the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley and was ordained a priest in San Francisco in 1990. Before his ordination, he taught English and religion and served as the director of the Christian Service program at Bellarmine Prep, San Jose, Calif.
After his ordination in 1990, Fr. Wehr returned to the classroom as a teacher of religion at Brophy College Prep, Phoenix, before embarking on his lifework as a parish priest at Jesuit parishes, a ministry for which he had a special gift. He was on the staff of St. Francis Xavier parish, Phoenix (1993-2000), Our Lady of Sorrows parish, Santa Barbara (2001-2004), and at St. Ignatius Loyola parish in Sacramento since 2004. He was an extremely dedicated and hard worker and his gentleness and calm demeanor made him an effective minister. He was a sought-after spiritual director and confessor, whose love of Scripture was evident.
In recent years his physical and mental health suffered a decline and while plans were being made for him to receive professional help, Fr. Wehr took his own life. As his family, his Jesuit brothers, and the whole St. Ignatius Loyola parish community struggle with the shock and sadness of his death, we rely on our faith in the tender mercies of God, so faithfully served by Fr. Wehr.
Art is survived by his mother, Margaret Wehr, of Folsom, California, and siblings Kate Wehr, Sue Buscher, Lisa Plumb, and Stephen, Michael and David Wehr.
Funeral Mass will be held Saturday, July 27, 2024, 11 a.m. at St. Ignatius Loyola Church, Sacramento, with a vigil the evening before at 7:00 p.m. The Mass will be livestreamed at stignatiussac.org. Burial will be at Santa Clara Mission Cemetery, Santa Clara, Calif., time and date to be determined.
Donations in memory of Father Wehr may be made to the Jesuits West Province of the Society of Jesus, P.O. Box 68, Los Gatos, CA 95031, or to the parish’s St. Vincent de Paul Conference, 3235 Arden Way, Sacramento, CA 95825.
