Well known retreat giver, Fr Tom Shufflebotham SJ, has died

Fr Tom Shufflebotham SJ passed away on May 4th. He was 87.

Tom was born on 14th July 1934 in Newton-le-Willows in Merseyside and was educated at St Francis Xavier College in Liverpool and then at Mount St Mary’s. He joined the novitiate at Harlaxton in 1952 at the age of 18, and after taking First Vows and making a two-year juniorate in Roehampton, studied for a licentiate in philosophy in Heythrop, Oxfordshire. Between 1958 and 1961 he read for a Master’s degree in modern history at Campion Hall in Oxford, followed by a three-year regency at St George’s College in Salisbury, Rhodesia, teaching history and Latin. A licentiate in theology at Heythrop followed, during which he was ordained in 1967. After a fourth year of theology post-ordination he made his tertianship at St Beuno’s under Paul Kennedy. Between 1969 and 1980 Tom taught history, first at St Ignatius College, Enfield and then, from 1973, at Stonyhurst.

In 1980 he moved to Loyola Hall as a member of the retreat house team and Superior of the community. In 1985 he was appointed as Rector of the Jesuit community in Wimbledon, combining this with the job of vocations’ promoter the following year. After a brief sabbatical, he joined the team at St Beuno’s in 1993, staying there for the next two decades and becoming Superior in 2003. His final move was to St Wilfrid’s Preston in 2014, where he continued to direct the Spiritual Exercises until his final illness.

His Requiem Mass will take place on Wednesday 1st June at 12.15pm at St Wilfrid’s church in Preston.