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February 18, 2025Please pray for the repose of the soul of Fr. Thomas (Tom) Fransiscus, C.Ss.R., J.C.L., who died at the age of 85 after an unplanned but routine medical procedure on February 13, 2025. Ordained to the priesthood at the end of Vatican II, Fr. Tom fully embraced the tenants of the new era and was a strong human rights activist particularly devoted to the Hispanic community. He had significant impact on the greater Church through his nearly 40 years of service on the tribunals of the Dioceses of Stockton, Monterey and Reno.
Thomas Joseph was born to Mathias and Opal Fransiscus on May 6, 1939 in Omaha, NE. He grew up in Holy Name Parish, where his vocation was nurtured by the local Redemptorist community and the Servants of Mary, his teachers at Holy Name Elementary School and Holy Name High School. He credited Fr. Bob Oelerich and Fr. Tony Powers with ensuring that he entered the Redemptorist formation program. An intelligent and athletically gifted student, he enrolled at St. Joseph’s College in Kirkwood, MO in 1957. He was four years older than his classmates and recognized as a mature and confident young man, a serious student who was already expressing interest in migrant ministry. He completed novitiate at Mount St. Clement’s in DeSoto, MO and professed temporary vows on August 2, 1960. He proceeded to Immaculate Conception Seminary in Oconomowoc, WI, where he professed perpetual vows on September 2, 1963 and was ordained to the priesthood on June 29, 1965, near the end of the Second Vatican Council that emphasized the Church’s solidarity with humanity and encouraged its leaders to become strong human rights advocates.
Newly ordained Fr. Tom spent his intern pastoral year at St. Alphonsus Church in St. Louis, MO, where he gained experience preaching among the youth and the Spanish-speaking, and helped organize the Black community. He spent the next year as associate pastor of St. Michael Church in Chicago, IL. He earned a master’s degree in theology from Loyola University while fully involved in ministry. In addition to providing catechesis in the Spanish language to the Puerto Rican community, he was a religious presence among youth gangs and engaged in government redevelopment programs.
Fr. Tom was appointed associate pastor of St. Gerard Catholic Church in Kirkwood, MO in 1968. He was responsible for sacramental ministry and teaching religion classes to grade schoolers, but he also preached Spanish language missions, and participated in the L.A.M.P. Program in Matamoros, Tams, Mexico. After a year, Fr. Tom was appointed associate pastor of St. Joseph Church in Denver, CO. In addition to pastoral responsibilities, he helped organize the Chicano community and served on the boards of directors of the Westside Coalition and the Westside Recorder, a Chicano community newspaper.
Eager for more opportunities in Hispanic ministry, Fr. Tom looked West to the former Oakland Province. He joined Fr. Enrique López at St. Alphonsus Church in Fresno, CA as associate pastor in 1972. He devoted the next seven years to preaching and catechesis in the Mexican American Community and was involved in barrio ministry. He also served as a board member of several organizations, including: the Sunset Community Council, the Concilio de Fresno, the Alternative Sentencing Program, the Economic Opportunities Commission, the Advisory Committee on Water Safety for the County of Fresno, and the Development of Parochial Entities: parish council, financial administration committee, Comunidades Eclesiales de Base, and sacramental preparation courses.
After 14 years of ministry, Fr. Tom enrolled at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He earned a bachelor’s degree in canon law and a licentiate degree in canon law by 1981, greatly impacting the scope of his ministry for the next 38 years. He returned to Fresno as pastor and superior of the local community at St. Alphonsus Parish and worked part-time at the tribunal of the Diocese of Stockton. He also served as chaplain of the Fresno Police Department and the Knights of Columbus. After four years, he was appointed a judge on the tribunal of the Diocese of Stockton and administrator of St. Linus Parish in Stockton, CA.
Fr. Tom served as adjutant judicial vicar of the Diocese of Reno’s tribunal from 1986 to 1989, when he joined the Diocese of Monterey’s tribunal as judicial vicar. During his seven years of service there, he simultaneously served as: administrator of St. Angela Merici Parish in Pacific Grove, CA; pastor of St. Jude Parish in Marina, CA; and pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Salinas, CA. He returned to the Diocese of Fresno’s tribunal in 1996 as a judge, and served as pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Planada, CA.
Fr. Tom was called back to the Diocese of Reno in 1997 as judicial vicar and pastor of St. Michael Church in Reno. After 12 years of service, he was appointed adjutant judicial vicar and pastor of St. Ann Parish in Dayton, NV. Serious health issues in 2019 necessitated his retirement and move to the St. Clement Redemptorist Mission Community in Barnhart, MO.
He had recovered sufficiently by 2023 to join the Redemptorist Renewal Center community in Tucson, AZ, where he was assigned at the time of his unexpected death.
FUNERAL SERVICES:
Tucson
Saturday, February 22, 2025
11:00 AM: Memorial Mass
Our Lady of the Desert
Redemptorist Renewal Center
7101 W Picture Rocks Rd
Tucson, AZ 85743Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.