Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

In Memoriam

Father Paul Joseph Bernadicou, SJ, university theology professor and spiritual director, died in his sleep of natural cause on December 10, 2020, at Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in Los Gatos, California. He was 87 years of age and had been a Jesuit for 68 years.

Fr. Bernadicou was born in Stockton, California, on February 18, 1933, the son of Paul Bernadicou an Anna Lucq Bernadicou. He graduated from St. Mary’s High School in Stockton and attended Santa Clara University for two years before entering the Jesuit novitiate in 1952 to study for the priesthood.

Studies were made at Gonzaga University (MA in English, 1961), Regis College in Toronto (MA in theology, 1966) and the Gregorian University, Rome (doctorate in spiritual theology, 1970). He was ordained a priest June 4, 1965, in St. Ignatius Church in San Francisco. He then did a year of spiritual theology at Paray-le-Monial in France (1966-1967).

Before ordination, Fr. Bernadicou taught English and French at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose (1959-1961). After completing his studies, he taught theology/religious studies at the University of San Francisco (1970-2000) while serving a term as department chair and rector of the USF Jesuit community. Fr. Bernadicou also served as rector of the Jesuit community at Loyola Marymount University (2000-2006).

Fr. Bernadicou’s ministry also included guiding Jesuits during their final stage of formation as director of the California Province tertianship program (1991-1998); chaplain and instructor in Gonzaga University’s program in Florence, Italy; spiritual director for priests at the Cardinal Manning House of Prayer in Los Angeles; and as pastoral assistant at St. Agnes Church in San Francisco. He retired to Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in 2015 for a ministry of prayer.

Fr. Bernadicou is survived by his brother, Louis (Diane) Bernadicou and a nephew, Paul Lynch, all of Stockton. Funeral Masses at Sacred Heart Jesuit Center are currently not open to the public because of Covid-19 restrictions.

To view Fr. Bernadicou’s livestreamed funeral Mass, click here.