Fr. Tom began his religious vocation with the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) from 1978 through 1985. His intent was to become a foreign missionary. In 1982, after graduating from Divine Word College Seminary in Epworth, Iowa (B.A. in Social Sciences with a Minor in Cross-cultural Studies), he was sent to historic Bay St. Louis, MS for novitiate. Bay St. Louis was the first US seminary to train African Americans for the priesthood. However, while in the SVD novitiate, he began to feel the great need for witness in the African American community. In 1985 he left the Divine Word Missionaries and focused on ministry in the inner city. For two years he did lay ministry in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and the Diocese of Dallas.
In 1987 Father Tom entered the novitiate for the Dominican Province of St. Albert the Great in Denver, CO. After one year of initial formation in the .life of the preacher., he was sent to Saint Louis, MO for theological studies. In 1992 he was granted the Master of Divinity degree (Pastoral Studies) and an M.A. in Systemic Theology at Aquinas Institute of Theology. He was ordained a priest on May 9, 1992. He is also a certified Child Welfare Specialist II for the State of Illinois, being granted the Master of Human Services in 2001. Fr. Tom has a great love for various cultures and languages, having studied abroad in Mexico and Italy. He has served the Church in many capacities: history and religion teacher, itinerate preacher, retreat and spiritual director, and hospital and university chaplain. Father Tom looks forward to years of service with the community of St. Thomas Aquinas.