Rev. Francis Theodore Pfeifer, OMI, born in Alamo, Texas on September 11, 1932 died in San Antonio, Texas on April 19, 2018 at the age of 85 years.

Fr. Pfeifer entered St. Anthony's Seminary and professed vows as a member of the Congregation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate on May 31, 1953. He completed his studies in philosophy and theology at De Mazenod Scholasticate (now Oblate School of Theology) in San Antonio. Fr. Pfeifer was ordained to the priesthood on May 30, 1959 by Bishop Stephen A. Leven, at St. Mary's church in downtown San Antonio. Fr. Pfeifer's first missionary assignment was to the Southern U.S. Province in Mexico. In 1963 he was sent to the Diocese of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, to the Mission of Huamelula. The following year he was in Tequisistlan until 1968 and in Quiechapa where he stayed for one year. He returned in late 1970 to Mason and Brownsville, Texas and in late 1971 returned to the Oblate Mission in the Diocese of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca. He received Obedience for Cristo Salvador y Señor Parish in 1994, a suburban area in Iztapalapa, to the east of Mexico City where he stayed for almost 13 years. Fr. Pfeifer served the people of Mexico for 44 years where he lived with and ministered to the poor indigenous people of that region. He survived an assassination attempt by the drug cartel that is documented in his 2009 Memoir entitled When the Wolves Came.

In 2007, Fr. Pfeifer suffered a stroke and was then assigned to Oblate Madonna Residence in San Antonio where he spent his retirement years enjoying various hobbies including woodworking. He became an Oblate of the US Province in 2018.

He was preceded in death by his parents Frank and Alice (Savage) Pfeifer and six sisters, Christine Pfeifer, Jean Pfeifer, Mary Alice Ballard, Roberta Freasier, Angela Kapeller and June Shafroth. He is survived by his brother, The Most Reverend Michael Pfeifer, OMI, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of San Angelo, three sisters, Colleen Lind, Jane Ellen Hilz, and Judy Pfeifer.

Fr. Pfeifer will be remembered with respect and esteem by his Oblate brothers and all the people who were recipients of his pastoral care.

FUNERAL SERVICES

Funeral services and mass will be held at Immaculate Conception Memorial Chapel at 285 Oblate Drive, San Antonio, Texas.

Vigil Service/Rosary will take place on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 with video commemorating his life at 6:15 PM and rosary at 7:00 PM.

Mass of Christian Burial will be on Wednesday, April 25, 2018 at 10:00 AM with interment at the Oblate Cemetery to follow.

MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to: Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, USP Support Office, 327 Oblate Drive, San Antonio, TX 78216, Reference: Missions of Mexico – Fr. Pfeifer's Missions.