When he was in third grade, veteran priest Father Raymond Thomas recalls his father encouraged him to become an altar server. His father did so “so that I could serve with Father William Maxwell,” then-pastor of St. Brendan Parish in Youngstown.
Little did he realize that his becoming an altar server would set him on the path to the priesthood. Father Thomas retired as a diocesan priest last May following more than a half-century of active ministry in various counties of the diocese.
A Youngstown native, Father Thomas attended St. Brendan School, and both Prospect School and St. Rose School in Girard. “My parents were both very active in the parishes we belonged to. When we moved to Girard, I continued serving Mass. Just seeing the priests at the altar and meeting them,” Father Thomas said, got him to think about the possibility that his vocation might be to the priesthood.
He advanced to Ursuline High School in Youngstown. “I don’t think that I talked much about my vocation until my sophomore year in high school, when I talked to Father Breen Malone, who was diocesan vocations director,” Father Thomas said. With his encouragement and that of others, he decided to pursue priestly studies.
He entered St. Gregory Seminary in Cincinnati on September 3, 1964. After graduating from St. Gregory, he transitioned to major seminary studies at Mount St. Mary.
He was ordained May 27, 1972, by Bishop James Malone in St. Columba Cathedral. Following ordination, Father Thomas’ first assignment was as associate pastor of St. Luke Parish in Boardman. He was transferred to St. Joseph Parish in Canton in 1974, where he remained until 1976, when he was assigned to St. Pius X (now St. John Paul II Parish) in Warren, with the additional assignment of chaplain at St. Joseph Hospital there. From 1980 to 1985, he served as director of the Newman Center Community at Youngstown State University.
Father Thomas’ first pastorate was at St. Aloysius (now Holy Trinity Parish) in East Liverpool beginning in 1985. He next served as chaplain for the Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He was transferred to St. Louis Parish in Louisville as pastor in 1993, remaining there until 1995.
The next stage in his priesthood involved ministering in Ashtabula County, where he would serve for the last 29 years of his priesthood. He first served as pastor of St. Mary Parish in Orwell, from 1995 to 1998. Then he moved to the northwest of the county, having been appointed pastor of St. Mary and St. Frances Cabrini parishes in Conneaut. In 2008, the two parishes were merged—eventually taking the name of Corpus Christi.
In August 2011, he was appointed pastor of the three Ashtabula City parishes—St. Joseph, Mother of Sorrows and Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Later that year, these parishes would be merged to form Our Lady of Peace Parish.
“I enjoyed the area. It was challenging but at the same time exhilarating,” Father Thomas said, adding he also enjoyed “seeing people from our three Church communities working together in parish festivals, fish dinners and other activities. By the time I was leaving, I saw it come together as one.”
He also appreciated the ethnic diversity of the parish. “There is a great Hispanic community. I enjoy the music and the culture—including learning to say the Mass in Spanish.”
In addition, Father Thomas served as dean of the Ashtabula County Deanery for 16 years.
As he looks back on his 52 years as a diocesan priest, Father Thomas does so “with great satisfaction and much happiness. There were challenges along the way—such as dealing with finances, administration, issues with bringing parishes together—but there were more pluses than minuses.”
What he likes best about being a priest, Father Thomas said, “is the interaction with the people—celebrating Mass, the weddings and the funerals and being a leader of prayer.”
As he begins retirement, living in Warren, Father Thomas hopes to “have more fun. I anticipate some more golf and recreational activities. I hope to find some time to travel—Chicago, Arizona, Washington state.”
In addition, though he will be free of much of the administrative burden necessary to being a pastor, he still plans to be involved in Church and community affairs, such as the St. Vincent de Paul Society and Rotary.
“I’d like to do more of the accompaniment that Pope Francis talks about,” Father Thomas said.
Tune in to the Catholic Echo podcast on Sunday, July 28, to hear an interview between Father Rogers, Father Thomas and Catholic Echo editor Katie Wagner.
