As we continue to express our gratitude to Fr. Chuck Keefe for his twenty-five years of service to Milwaukee Catholic Home, we are excited to welcome the new chaplain who will be joining our community. Fr. Dominic Thomas, a member of the Missionary Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, has been assigned to Milwaukee Catholic Home by Archbishop Listecki and will be joining us in October after Fr. Chuck’s retirement.
Fr. Thomas’s full bio is below. We ask the whole MCH community to welcome this new member of our family, and to join us in praying for Fr. Thomas as he prepares for this opportunity to serve!
Getting To Know Fr. Thomas
Fr. Dominic Thomas, MCBS, was born and raised in Kerala, a beautiful state in the country of India. Kerala is often referred to as “God’s own country.”
Fr. Thomas was ordained to the Priesthood on May 7, 1987, as a member of the Missionary Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. The Congregation’s spiritual heritage is a religious life marked by love, missionary vitality, and a devotion to the Eucharist.
Initially, Fr. Thomas served in India as a Procurator, Rector, and Teacher at the Minor Seminary while earning college degrees in Philosophy, Arts, and Theology and a Masters and licentiate in Indian Philosophy.
In 1997, Fr. Thomas came to the United States, serving as an associate pastor in New York and Connecticut with a year-long stint in Ireland. He also earned an additional degree in Moral Theology from Yale University.
In 2004, Fr. Thomas was called to serve in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, beginning in West Allis, Wisconsin and then appointed by Archbishop Dolan as Pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Kenosha, Wisconsin. In 2006, the Archbishop appointed him to a second Pastoral assignment at St. James the Apostle Parish, also in Kenosha.
Working closely with the Milwaukee Archdiocese, Father Dominic was instrumental in bringing over three additional Priests from his religious order to help with the priest shortage.
After serving 10 years in the Milwaukee Archdiocese, in June of 2015, Father Dominic was again called to relocate to St. Bernadette mission parish in Butner, North Carolina. After serving as Administrator there for one year, he is now back in Southeastern Wisconsin and serving at St. Benedict in Fontana, WI.
In one interview Father was asked about how hard it is to obey, relocate and serve, leaving family and good friends. His reply was, “I bloom where I am planted.”
Fr. Thomas looks forward to helping strengthen the Milwaukee Catholic Home community through sacramental ministries, one-on-one interactions, and ministering to our residents and their families.