PAUL J. LAMMERMEIER
August 21, 1939 – August 17, 2022

On August 17, 2022 in Lima, Peru, Paul “Pablo” Lammermeier slipped quietly away to God and
the eternal bliss of that warm embrace. And as St. Augustine noted, “Our loved ones only go
from us to God….and God is very near.”

Paul was born in suburban Cleveland, Ohio, August 21, 1939. Paul’s working class parents,
Howard and Lucille, decided early on that Paul and his two younger brothers, Jim and Ken,
would benefit from a Catholic education. So, at significant financial sacrifice, the three brothers
attended St. Francis Xavier Parochial School and later, St. Ignatius High School.

Paul blossomed both academically and spiritually at St. Ignatius. Upon graduation in 1957, Paul
entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). As a Jesuit scholastic, he returned to St. Ignatius from
1964-1967, teaching History and Latin and serving as Assistant Athletic Director and as Prefect
at the morning Liturgies. On weekends, he ran the local Catholic Youth Organization (CYO)
basketball league.

During his ten years in the Jesuits, Paul received an excellent education in Philosophy and the
Humanities. He received an AB degree from Loyola University (Chicago) in 1963 and an MA in
1968, majoring in History. More importantly, he embraced Ignatian spirituality, seeing God in
every person and everything – and made this central to his life.

In 1968, Paul made a major life change and withdrew from the Jesuits. During his years
teaching at St. Ignatius High School, Paul had found his true calling as a teacher. To further
prepare, he returned to school, entering a doctoral program at Kent State University, where he
majored in American History with an emphasis on African American History. Those years were
integral to the formation of Paul’s social consciousness as he studied the American Black
experience and that of other minorities within American society.

In the spring of 1974, St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio hired Paul to teach and
formally establish its Community Service Program. Over the next fourteen years, Paul dedicated
his life to instilling in his students the attitudes consistent with Jesuit philosophy and service to
the needy in one’s community. This service included assistance to the terminally ill, tutoring
disadvantaged youth, a Junior Big Brothers Program, canned food drives, etc. During his final
year at St. Xavier, over five hundred students, just under 50%, participated in the Community
Service Program. The program continues to thrive and has become a hallmark of the school on a
national basis, even though Paul has been away from the school for almost thirty-five years.

In 1983, Paul made the first of several mission trips to Peru, each trip longer than the last. After a
six-month visit teaching, learning the language, and working with the poor, Paul felt a calling to
be a missionary in Peru. Five years later, in 1988, Paul sold his house and belongings, left
everything that he loved and put himself in the hands of the Lord. Paul was hired to teach
English and History and begin a small community service program at Colegio San Francisco
Javier, a Jesuit high school in the Breña neighborhood of Peru’s capital, Lima.

Through Paul’s community service work, he came to know many Peruvian boys who were homeless. In
1992, he took one and later a second teenage boy into his small, 400 square foot apartment.
With his meager teacher’s salary of $250. per month and unsolicited financial assistance from a
handful of friends in the States, Paul was able to provide the essentials for these two boys: Edgar
and Donato.

Yet, Paul sensed that God was calling him to do more.

On a trip back to the United States, Paul told some of his former St. Xavier students and friends
of a home he envisioned for homeless boys. A dozen of these friends formed a non-profit
organization with the sole purpose of providing funds for Paul’s efforts. Thus, the Paul
Lammermeier Foundation (PLF) was created in 1995. PLF board members administer the
foundation and the raising of its funds. By April 1997, the foundation, with the financial
support of hundreds whom Paul had met while living in Cincinnati and Cleveland, had raised
enough money to purchase Casa Javier (Xavier House) in Breña, a working class neighborhood
in Lima.

Casa Javier serves up to eight boys — all studying, all from desperate circumstances in the
provinces of Peru and all provided an opportunity to further their education in a family
environment.

At that time Fr. Robert J. Welsh, President of St. Ignatius H.S., noted:
“Clearly, the Lord has done something wonderful with Paul Lammermeier.  He must have a
knowledge of Christ that has transformed him into a man who is forgetful of himself and
consistently alert to the needs of others – especially those in grave need.”

A few years later, the Paul and the foundation opened a second home for boys, Casa Ignacio
(Ignatius House), and in 2011, Paul and the foundation opened Casa Teresa (named in honor of
Mother Teresa) for girls.

Paul always saw himself continuing in this project as long as God gave him the strength to do so,
and presumably he still will.

In early August 2022, Diego Vilela, Director of Casa Javier and longtime friend and companion
to Paul commented:
“Being a saint is not being extraordinary or performing miracles; it is simply being a reflection
of a human Jesus on a daily basis. Transmit light and hope to other lives. I believe that Pablo is
that for each one of us…”

Paul is survived by his brothers, Jim and Ken, his dear aunt, Sister Madeline Lammermeier,
numerous cousins, and his wider family, including the dozens of boys and girls he raised in Lima
(many now with their own children and some Paul’s Godchildren), board and staff of the Paul
Lammermeier Foundation in Cincinnati and Asociacion Casa Javier in Lima, and hundreds of
friends, colleagues and benefactors worldwide.

Memorial Celebrations are planned for both Cincinnati and Cleveland. More details will be
posted on www.chambersfuneral.com and www.Lammermeier.org

Memorial donations can be made at https://www.lammermeier.org/donate/one-time-donation/

Paul allowed himself to be an instrument of God’s peace and His work will continue.