Fetzer, José Emilio

Jesuit Father José Emilio Fetzer died on Dec. 22, 2012, at Ignatius Retreat Center in Atlanta. He was 52 years of age, a Jesuit for 17 years and a priest for 4½ years.

Fr. Fetzer was born on March 12, 1960, in Lima, Peru. After his early education at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Lima, he studied at the University of Lima, DeKalb College and Georgia State University in Atlanta. He entered the Jesuit Novitiate on Aug. 14, 1995, at St. Charles College in Grand Coteau, La. Following his first vows on Aug. 15, 1997, he proceeded to first studies at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., and then to St. Louis University in St. Louis where he earned a B.A. in Spanish.

Fr. Fetzer taught Spanish at Jesuit College Preparatory School, in Dallas, for his regency. He then went to theology at Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass., where he earned a Master of Divinity. After theology, his brief apostolic career was dedicated to the ministry of the Spiritual Exercises. In 2006 he was assigned to be a retreat director at Montserrat Retreat House in Lake Dallas, Texas. He was ordained a priest on June 14, 2008, at Immaculate Conception Jesuit Church. Fr. Fetzer worked at Montserrat until 2011, when he was missioned to Ignatius Retreat House in Atlanta, again as a retreat director. He died there in his office, where it was his custom to pray in the early morning.