Fr. Josef Venker, SJ, MFA is a Jesuit priest, artist, and educator from St. Louis and a member of the Missouri Province Society of Jesus.  For the past 19 years he has been a member of the Jesuit Community at Seattle University where he teaches courses in printmaking, calligraphy, ceramic sculpture, drawing, and painting and serves as Chair of the Department of Fine Arts.

In addition to his degrees in Philosophy, Ministry, and Spirituality, he holds a BFA in Ceramic Sculpture from the California College of Art, and a MFA in Painting from the University of Denver. 

Fr. Venker is especially interested in Creation Centered Spirituality and the use of art as a form of mediation.  Each summer he spends time at the Grünewald Guild, a venue for art and faith in Plain, Washington.  At the Guild he regularly teaches the “Painting Sacred Earth” workshop using Aboriginal Australian painting techniques as a way to tell our own sacred stories.