He was born on April 4, 1936, in St. Louis, the son of Robert E. and Anne (O’Mara) Sudekum. The family attended St. Roch Parish in St. Louis, where he was baptized. He attended Cardinal Glennon College and Kenrick Seminary and was ordained to the priesthood on March 18, 1961, at the St. Louis Cathedral by Cardinal Joseph E. Ritter. Msgr. Sudekum earned a master’s degree in education from Saint Louis University.

His first assignment following his ordination was as associate pastor at St. Kevin Parish in St. Ann, where he served until 1965. During that time he also served at Mercy High School. He was named religion teacher and later guidance counselor at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, serving there until 1976.

During that period he was named associate pastor at St. Aloysius Parish in Spanish Lake and then at Good Shepherd Parish in Ferguson. In 1972, he was elected to a three-year term on the Archdiocesan Council of Priests.

In 1976, he was named director of special projects for the archdiocesan Catholic Education Office, and while there became associate pastor at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in St. Louis. In 1978, he became resident chaplain at St. Vincent’s Home for Children in Normandy.

Msgr. Sudekum was appointed editor of the St. Louis Review in 1981, a position he held until 1994. He also served as business manager at the Review and as an archdiocesan spokesman to the media. Msgr. Sudekum was an archdiocesan consulter and president of the Council of Priests. He also was a press secretary to the U.S. bishops’ delegation during the 1987 World Synod of Bishops and served on the board of the Catholic Press Association.

In November 1994, Msgr. Sudekum was appointed pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in University City, remaining there until his retirement in June 2011. He most recently resided at St. Agnes Home in Kirkwood.

Burial was in Calvary Cemetery.