We join the Society of Jesus in mourning the passing of Fr. Albert (Al) Grosskopf, S.J. who peacefully passed away on August 25, 2025, at the Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in Los Gatos, at the age of 94.
Born on December 20, 1930 in San Francisco,Fr. Grosskopf was a graduate of St. Ignatius High School in San Francisco and received his B.A. in Theology from the University of San Francisco (USF). He received his M.A. in Applied Theology from the School of Applied Theology at the Graduate Theological Union and his M.Div. from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley.
Fr. Grosskopf served the USF community as Associate Director and, later, Interim Director of University Ministry between 1985 and 2003. The St. Ignatius parish community fondly remembers his time as Associate Pastor from 1997 to 2008. From 2008 to 2014, he also served as Pastoral Minister at Loyola House.
Fr. Grosskopf was deeply committed to ministering to divorced Catholics. In 2019, he received the annual award of Catholic Divorce Ministry, the Father James J. Young, C.S.P. Award, on at the National Conference of Catholic Divorce Ministry. The award was in recognition of Fr. Grosskopf’s over 50 years of service to divorce ministry–a ministry that he continued to lead and support during his time at USF and St. Ignatius parish. In an interview with Catholic San Francisco, shortly after winning the award, Fr. Grosskopf was asked what drew him into divorce ministry. He said, "I have a strong empathic feeling for people who experience alienation and non-acceptance by others.”
A funeral mass will take place on Tuesday, September 23, 2025 at 11:00 am, St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish in San Francisco.
Our community expresses its heartfelt gratitude for Fr. Grosskopf’s life and condolences to his family, friends, and the Society of Jesus.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.