Welcome Rev. Thomas Pers!

Fr. Tom was born at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore and grew up in Brightwaters. His family are parishioners at St. Patrick’s parish in Bay Shore. While he was growing up, he was very involved in Boy Scouts and became an Eagle Scout in 1994. He loved going camping. Fr. Tom also likes to read, especially biographies and American history.

He attended Bay Shore public schools and graduated HS in 1994. Then he went to Gettysburg College, PA. and graduated with a BA in History in 1998. While in college, he became involved with Catholic Campus Ministry and started to discern if God was calling him to be a priest. He participated in Bible Study, was a server, EM and Lector at Mass on campus. He talked with a priest at college and helped him to explore his vocation to the priesthood. He told him that if he felt God was calling him to be a priest or get married or do another type of work the only sure way to find out what he was supposed to do was to try it. Fr. Tom felt strong enough about it that he applied to the seminary and decided to take things one year at a time and see where God would lead him.

After college he spent a year (1998-99) in the Pre-theology program at Cathedral Seminary Residence in Douglaston, Queens. After that he went to Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington. During his 5 years there he studied Theology and did a pastoral/internship year (2001-02) at St. William the Abbott in Seaford. He also became a Brother Knight while in the seminary. He worked as a Deacon at St. Patrick’s in Glen Cove on weekends from Dec 2003 to June 2004 and finished his classes at the seminary during the week. Fr. Tom was ordained a priest on June 12, 2004.

After ordination to the priesthood he was assigned to St. John the Evangelist parish in Center Moriches where he worked as an Associate Pastor from 2004-09. Then he moved to Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Lindenhurst. In both those parishes, in addition to the usual things an Associate Pastor does, he worked with the Youth Group and Pre Cana. In June of 2010 he was appointed pastor of St. Francis de Sales Parish in Patchogue. It was a busy parish with a regional school on the property with English and Spanish communities. He learned enough Spanish to say Mass and hear Confessions. For part of that time he was there, he had a retired priest who lived with him and helped out until that priest moved and left Fr. Tom the only priest living in the parish. He was able to get some help on the weekends from religious order priests as well as the deacons and parish staff he worked with did a lot to serve the parish. It was a great community, but it was a lot of work to do for one priest.

After his 6 year term there he was offered to extend his term, be a pastor at another parish, or take an assignment as an Associate Pastor again. He loved what he was doing but it was a lot to do as the only priest in the community. Therefore, he chose to become an Associate Pastor again and was assigned to work at St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish in Sayville. He enjoyed being an associate pastor again because it gave him more time to pray and work with the people of the parish. Pastors do that too, but they have to spend a lot of time worrying about the business side of a parish: buildings, bills, policy, fundraising, etc. He also had the opportunity to be the Chaplain for the St. Lawrence council of the K of C and had also been involved with the councils in the other parishes that he had worked in. He has always enjoyed working with the Knights.

During his time at St. Lawrence, he had the opportunity to go on a parish pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi. Fr. Tom felt it was a good decision to become an Associate Pastor again because he had some health issues that ended up being stage 3 colorectal cancer. He believes that had he still been a pastor, he might not have made the time to go to the doctor to get diagnosed and treated. He was diagnosed with cancer after his first colonoscopy in October 2019 at age 43. His family has had a history of other types of cancer, but no one had colon cancer before. His mom died from a rare type of lung cancer at age 50 about 4 months after his ordination in 2004, so he knew that he had to take his diagnosis and treatment seriously. He went to Sloan Kettering for chemotherapy, radiation and 2 surgeries (one to remove the tumor and another to reverse the ostomy that he needed while his colon healed from the first surgery). It was a very challenging time. He worked a little at St. Lawrence between his treatments but spent a lot of time home with his father, recovering. He had to be very careful because a large part of the time that he was dealing with cancer was the same time that the world was dealing with Covid. If he got Covid that would have delayed his treatment. Fr. Tom ended up recovering pretty well from all the cancer and treatment but says that being sick has given him a deeper appreciation for the simple things in life and a sense of gratitude for being alive. It has also helped him in his ministry to relate better to people who are facing serious illness. He also learned a lot from the experience of his mom’s illness and death that has helped him relate to others who are experiencing loss. He recalls that one of his saddest times as a priest was presiding at the funeral mass for his Mom.

Fr. Tom feels that being a priest is definitely not easy, but it is definitely rewarding and is not boring. You never know what each day will bring. It is a unique opportunity to be part of people’s lives and hopefully experience God’s presence through ministry. He loves experiencing the difference it makes when you can help someone come to a better understanding of their faith. He’s watched children grow, and couples marry and start families. He’s tried to offer comfort to the sick and dying and their families. Fr. Tom has officiated weddings for people who had been his altar servers and baptized their children. It’s a very rewarding and joyful thing to be a part of. There are also very difficult moments too. “I think some of the funerals that I’ve had where the deceased person had young children were some of the toughest moments I’ve had.” He also remembers offering a funeral Mass for a young woman he knew in one of his parishes. She had the same type of colorectal cancer he had. They had similar treatments, medications and surgeries at the same hospital with the same surgeon and doctors. Fr. Tom says, “experiences like that really make you look at life in a new and profound way.” He also feels that “being a priest is a gift that enables you to see life’s joys and challenges in a very deep way.” He believes the key to living life as a priest is to try to always look for or try to bring Christ’s presence into any situation.

One of Fr. Tom’s favorite Bible passages to meditate on and to recommend to someone for encouragement in many different circumstances is Romans 8:31-39. St. Paul says, “If God is for us, who can be against us.” It’s a passage that fits all situations. If we’re celebrating a happy occasion such as a wedding or baptism or struggling with illness or death, we are reminded that Christ is our companion on the journey. God gave him strength and grace to deal with his challenges and if we trust in God we will be blessed with that grace too.