About Fr. Tom
From the people who know him best...
Rev. Thomas R. McCarthy, O.S.A.
A Restless Journey in Christ
Father Tom is an experienced teacher, administrator, retreat director and parish mission preacher.
He is a native of the South Side of Chicago. He grew up in St. Adrian Parish in Marquette Park. He received his elementary school education at St. Adrian School and high school education at St. Rita of Cascia High School. He graduated from Villanova University with a B.A. in Communication Arts. He also has a Master of Arts in Educational Administration from Lewis University.
Fr. Tom entered the Midwest Province of the Augustinian Order in 1987. After completing his novitiate, he attended Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and graduated with a Master of Divinity degree.
​
In 1993 he made his solemn vows as an Augustinian Friar and in 1994 he was ordained to the priesthood.
He did a pastoral internship at St. Clare of Montefalco Parish in Grosse Pointe Park, MI, and taught theology at Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox.
Fr. Tom ministered for 21 years at St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chicago as a teacher, campus minister, Principal, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Fr. Tom ministered for nine years as the Vocation Director for the Our Mother of Good Counsel (Midwest) and five years for St. Thomas of Villanova (Eastern) Province.
Fr. Tom spent two years as the Augustinian Advisor to the Office of First- and Second-Year Initiatives - Office of Student Life at Villanova University.
Fr. Tom ministered in Rome as part of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization where he was named a Papal Missionary of Mercy by Pope Francis in 2018. Father Tom spent two years as the Director of the Augustinian Marylake Shrine in King City, Ontario, and the Prior of the Marylake Augustinian Monastery.
​
Fr. Tom is currently in his 14th year as Vocation Director for the Midwest Province and is the Director of St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel in Chicago, IL. Father Tom is also the Prior of the Pre-Novitiate Community of St. Clare of Montefalco Friary in Chicago.
​
Father Tom continues to preach parish missions and lead retreats. Thank you for visiting this website and God Bless you.
Fr. Tom's Passport
Preaching across North America
2025
St. Padre Pio, Kleinburg, ON (Canada)
Deacons' Retreat, Diocese of Honolulu, Honolulu, HI
St. Julie Billiart Parish, Tinley Park, IL
St. Anastasia Parish, Newtown Square, PA
St. Patrick Parish, Armonk, NY
St. Thomas More Parish, Troy, MI
St. Paschal Baylon Parish, Highland Heights, OH
St. Joseph Parish, Manchester, MO
Visitation Parish, Elmhurst, IL
St. James Parish, Lake Placid, FL
Mary, Queen of Heaven, Elmhurst, IL
Queen of Peace, Chicago, IL
St. Rita of Cascia Novena and Feastday, Chicago, IL
Diocese of Rockford Deacon Retreat, Rockford, Illinois
St. John Neumann Parish, Homewood, Illinois
Immaculate Conception and Assumption Parishes, Braidwood and Coal City, Illinois
St. Joseph Parish, Dyer, Indiana
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Troy, Michigan
Diocese of Rockford Deacon Retreat, Rockford, Illinois
St. Jude Parish, Benton, Louisiana
St. Jude Parish, New Lenox, Illinois
St. Jude the Apostle Parish, Sandy Springs, Georgia
2024
Our Lady of Mt Carmel Novena, Melrose Park, IL
St. John of the Cross Parish, Western Springs, IL
Diocese of Tulsa, OK Priest Retreat, Tulsa, OK
Diocese of Rockford, IL Priest Retreat, Rockford, IL
Holy Family Parish, Shorewood, IL
St. John Neumann Parish, Homewood, IL
St. Frances Cabrini Parish, Fairless Hills, PA
St. Catherine of Siena Parish, West Dundee, IL
Holy Name of Jesus Parish, Valhalla, NY
St. Paul the Apostle Parish, Peotone, IL
St. James Parish, Conway, SC
2023
St. Augustine Parish, Andover, MA
St. Walter, Roselle, IL
Holy Spirit, Naperville, IL
St. Frances Cabrini Parish, Fairless Hills, PA
St. Patrick and St. Anne’s, Momence, IL
Parish of the Holy Cross, Bridgeton, NJ
St. Joseph, Bradley, IL
St. Vincent DePaul, Silver City, NM
St. Paul of the Cross, North Palm Beach, FL
St. Patrick, Armonk, NY
St. Anastasia, Newtown Square, PA
Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago, IL
St. Peter, Itasca, IL
Cathedral of St. Mary, Cheyenne, WY
St. Luke and St. Bernadine, River Forest and Forest Park, IL
St. Bridget, Loves Park, IL
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Troy, MI
St. Theresa of Avila Catholic Student Center for Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN
St. Gerald Parish, Oak Lawn, IL
St. Paul Parish, Philadelphia, PA
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Chicago, IL
St. Paul the Apostle Parish, Norwalk, OH
St. Catherine of Siena Parish, West Dundee, IL
Christ Our Light Parish, Troy, MI
St. Peter the Apostle Parish, Geneva, IL
2022
St. Raphael, Naperville, Illinois
All Saints Parish, Rossford, Ohio
St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Bolingbrook, Illinois
Resurrection Parish, Wayne, Illinois
St. Patrick Parish, Tampa, Florida
St. Hugo of the Hills Parish, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
St. Marcelline, Schaumburg, Illinois
Immaculate Conception Parish, Elmhurst, Illinois
St. Michael Parish, Orland Park, Illinois
St. Lawrence O'Toole and St. Irenaeus Parish, Matteson, Illinois
St. Bridget Parish, Loves Park, Illinois
​
2021
St. Margaret Mary Parish, Naperville, Illinois
Christ the King Parish, Chicago, Illinois
St. Hugo of the Hills Parish, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
St. Edward Parish, Chicago, Illinois
Sacred Heart Parish, Palos Heights, Illinois
St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Orland Park, Illinois
St. Francis de Sales Parish, Belle Harbor, New York
Church of the Holy Ghost, Wood Dale, Illinois
St. Theresa Parish, Des Moines, Iowa
St. Eugene Parish, Primos, Pennsylvania
St. Margaret Mary, Herscher, Illinois
St. James the Apostle, Irwin, Illinois
Sacred Heart, Goodrich, Illinois
St. Frances Cabrini Parish, Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania
St. Edna, Arlington Heights, Illinois
St. James, Arlington Heights, Illinois
Our Lady of the Wayside, Arlington Heights, Illinois
St. Mary, Buffalo Grove, Illinois
St Colette, Mt. Prospect, Illinois
St. Peter Parish, Geneva, Illinois
St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Silver City, New Mexico
St. Mary of the Lake Parish, Chicago, Illinois
2020
Notre Dame Parish, Clarendon Hills, Illinois
Our Lady, Queen of the World Parish, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
Our Lady of the Woods Parish, Orland Park, Illinois
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Selma, Texas
St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Mountain Lakes, New Jersey
Our Lady Queen of Angels Parish, Newport Beach, California
St. Paschal Baylon Parish, Highland Heights, Ohio
St. Ambrose Parish, Chicago, Illinois
St. Anselm Parish, Chicago, Illinois
Corpus Christi Parish, Chicago, Illinois
St. Elizabeth Parish, Chicago, Illinois
St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Chicago, Illinois