Fr. Gregory M. Goethals, SJ, recently retired president of Loyola High School of Los Angeles, died in New York City on November 24, 2025. While on sabbatical, on November 8 he suffered a major heart attack and remained hospitalized until his death. He was 70 years of age and had been a member of the Jesuit order since 1978.
Gregory Moen Goethals was born January 19, 1955, in Glendale, California, the son of Richard B. Goethals, an attorney, and Mary E. Moen Goethals. He attended Loyola High School (1969-1973), Santa Clara University (BA, History 1977) and studied law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles for a year before entering the Jesuit novitiate in Santa Barbara, California, in 1978.
Following his novitiate years, he studied philosophy at Fordham University in New York City (1980-1982) and taught English and civics and assisted with student retreats and theater productions at Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix (1982-1985). He made theological studies at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California (1985-1988), and was ordained a priest at the Loyola Marymount University chapel in Los Angeles on June 4, 1988. He spent the next year at the Weston School of Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, earning a Master of Theology in AIDS Ministry.
Fr. Goethals returned to Brophy Prep in 1989 as a teacher, campus minister and director of liturgy. He then resumed studies in counseling at the University of San Francisco (1991-1994). He was named assistant campus minister at St. Ignatius College Prep in San Francisco in 1991, assuming the directorship the following year. At the same time, he also held positions as a religious studies teacher and student counselor. From 1998-2004, he served as superior of the Jesuit community, while remaining active directing student retreats and moderating Christian Life Communities.
Fr. Goethals was named president of Loyola High School in 2006, a position he held until last summer. During his tenure, he oversaw a major campus expansion and renovation, as well as implemented strategic planning for the future.
Fr. Goethals is survived by six of his seven siblings: Honorable Thomas Goethals and wife, Patty; Betsy and husband, Andy Ackerman; Margy and husband, Jerry Costello; Katie and husband, Paul Shoenberger; Arthur Goethals and wife, Myra; and F. Christine Goethals; 21 nieces and nephews, and many grandnieces and grandnephews. He is also survived by Christine Goethals, wife of his brother Richard, who preceded him in death.
The Funeral Mass will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, December 7, 2025, in the chapel of Loyola High School, 1901 Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles 90006. The funeral will be . Inurnment will be Thursday, December 11, 2025, 1 p.m. at Santa Clara Mission Cemetery, 490 Lincoln Street, Santa Clara, CA 95050.
Donations in memory of Fr. Goethals may be made to the ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ West Province of the Society of Jesus, P.O. Box 68, Los Gatos, CA 95031, or to a charity of your choosing.
