Father James Hoge, O.S.B. Endowed Scholarship

A member of the Saint Leo Abbey, Saint Leo College, and Saint Leo University community since pronouncing his first vows and entry into the Order of Saint Benedict in 1938, Father James Hoge was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1943. After 15 years teaching at Saint Leo College Preparatory School, he embarked upon a career of pastoral work in the tri-county Hernando-Pasco-Citrus area of Florida which then constituted the Benedictine apostolate. Father James was known as the “Catholic Father of Citrus County”. He started all of the present-day parishes there—six in all—and built the county’s first inter-parochial school, Pope John Paul II Catholic School in Lecanto, FL.Father James was former director of public relations and treasurer at Saint Leo Abbey and Saint Leo College and served on the college board of trustees. He was trustee emeritus at Saint Leo University and a contributing editor of The Florida Catholic Heritage Trail. Father Hoge was 96 years old when he passed away on March 16, 2013.