Fr. MuellerA funeral Mass for Father Glenn R. Mueller, SJ, was celebrated Oct. 21 at the chapel of St. Ignatius Hall at Delmar Gardens North in Florissant. Father Mueller died Oct. 15 at St. Ignatius Hall. He was 82 years old, a Jesuit for 62 years and a priest for 50 years.
Glenn Mueller was born in St. Louis on May 10, 1941, to Lester J. Mueller and Hyacinth (Holtz) Mueller. A graduate of St. Louis University High School, he attended Rockhurst College for two years before entering the Society of Jesus at St. Stanislaus Seminary in Florissant on Sept. 1, 1961. There he pronounced first vows on Sept. 2, 1963, and was ordained to the priesthood in the Cathedral of St. Louis on May 11, 1973. He pronounced final vows on Dec. 3, 1977, at St. Stephen’s Mission in Wyoming.
Father Mueller earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, a master’s degree in American history and a master of divinity in theology, all at Saint Louis University
His first teaching assignment was at Rockhurst High School from 1967-70, where he taught Latin, history and speech. Following priestly ordination, he was assigned to his high school alma mater, where he taught history and religion from 1974-77.
In 1977, Father Mueller began work with the Arapaho and Shoshoni tribes at St. Stephen’s Mission on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming from 1977-80. He then served for a year as associate pastor at St. Agnes Cathedral Parish in Springfield, Missouri, before being assigned to St. Joseph’s Parish in Pueblo, Colorado, where he served as associate pastor then pastor from 1981-89.
He was pastor at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1990-94, then assistant pastor at St. Francis Xavier “College” Church in St. Louis (1994-97), Guardian Angels Parish in Kansas City, Missouri, (1997-2012), and St. Charles Borromeo Church in Grand Coteau, Louisiana. He returned to St. Louis and was in ministry from Jesuit Hall from 2013-22.
Earlier this year, as he celebrated his 50th jubilee as a priest, Father Mueller wrote: “I thank the Lord for His call to be a Jesuit and a priest. When I had the good sense to listen, the people I had the privilege to encounter loved and patiently taught me a lot about life and how to let the Lord work through me. Through them I learned what the vocation to be a Jesuit and a priest is all about.”
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister, Leanne. He is survived by his brother-in-law, John Lister; his cousin, Kay Monks; and several grandnieces and grandnephews. Burial was in Calvary Cemetery.