St. Rita of Cascia High School Adds New Director of Community Relations

CHICAGO, IL, July 22, 2022—Deacon John Donahue, J.D., Ed.D., President of St. Rita of Cascia High School, announced the Rev. Thomas McCarthy, O.S.A. has been named as the new Director of Community Relations. Fr. Tom is currently in his 13th year as Vocation Director for the Midwest Province and is the Director of St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel.

“I am very grateful that Fr. Tom has accepted this newly created position of Director of Community Relations. No one knows our southside community better or has a greater relationship with the parishes and people than Fr. Tom. His long history with St. Rita of Cascia High School and his well-known pastoral care for all as an Augustinian priest is a blessing to our school.” stated Deacon John Donahue, President.

Fr. Tom is originally from the South Side of Chicago and grew up in St. Adrian Parish in Marquette Park. He attended St. Adrian School and is an ‘83 graduate of St. Rita of Cascia High School. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts from Villanova University and continued his education to pursue a Master of Arts in Educational Administration from Lewis University.

Fr. Tom entered the Midwest Province of the Augustinian Order in 1983, and after completing his novitiate, he attended Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Fr. Tom graduated with a Master of Divinity degree. From there, he made his solemn vows as an Augustinian Friar and he was ordained to the priesthood in 1994.

He completed 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 High School as a teacher, campus minister, Principal, President, and Chairman of the Board of Directors.

“I’m honored and excited to be ministering back at St. Rita. My time at St. Rita, starting when I entered as a freshman in 1979, has been influenced by the Augustinian spirit of Veritas, Unitas, and Caritas - truth, unity, and love. I am so happy to bring that same Augustinian spirit to my new role as Director of Community Relations. I know the Augustinian spirit has been alive and well these past 117 years, and I look forward to helping bring it into the next 117 years!” mentioned Fr. Tom

In 2018, 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. 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. He continues to lead retreats and preach missions regularly serving the St. Rita community and throughout the entire country as well.