The late Rev. Richard M. Thomas, a priest that served in El Paso, Juárez and Las Cruces during the 1960s, has advanced in the first step of being considered for sainthood.
The bishops of the United States met at their November Plenary Assembly and voted in the majority to support for the advancement of the cause of beatification and canonization at the diocesan level. The votes were 206 in favor, 4 votes against, and 1 abstention.
The bishops held a canonical consultation on the possible cause of beatification and canonization for Rev. Thomas, a Jesuit priest known for his austere lifestyle, and charity work with the poor in Juárez.
He is not the first priest from the Borderland to be considered for sainthood. The Rev. Pedro de Jesus Maldonado was canonized by Pope John Paul II on May 21, 2000. He is the first saint and martyr from Chihuahua, Mexico, and began his religious life in El Paso. He was ordained a priest at St. Patrick Cathedral on Jan. 25, 1918. It was during the time of the persecution of Catholics by the Mexican government.
His remains are now venerated at St. Patrick Cathedral in El Paso, after an urn containing some of his relics was donated by the Archdiocese of Chihuahua.
Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance, and Bishop Peter Baldacchino of Las Cruces, led the discussion on Thomas.
Both Baldacchino and El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz and other bishops shared stories and support for the canonization.
Baldacchino said Thomas resided at the Lord’s Ranch near Vado, N.M., which is part of the Diocese of Las Cruces, but most of his ministry took place in El Paso and Juárez. He was supportive of local efforts to help immigrants and was a pioneer in the pro-life movement, according to the bishops.
A 1976 news clipping of the late Rev. Richard M. Thomas, a priest that served in El Paso and Las Cruces during the 1960s. He was voted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to be supported for beautification.
According to the Diocese of Las Cruces, Richard Thomas was born on March 1, 1928, in Seffner, Florida. He was educated in Catholic schools and graduated from Jesuit High School in Tampa. He entered the Jesuit order in 1945, and was ordained to the priesthood in San Francisco, California in 1958.
In 1964, he was assigned to lead Our Lady’s Youth Center in El Paso, a ministry to the poor in South El Paso. He expanded the reach of Our Lady’s Youth Center to New Mexico and across the border to areas of Juárez, Mexico.
Feeding the poor in Juárez
On a Christmas Day in 1972, Thomas invited a prayer group from El Paso to join him in serving dinner to the poor who lived and worked at a garbage dump in Juárez. According to the Diocese of Las Cruces, Thomas was following the Bible passage where Jesus tells his followers to invite the poor, not the rich.
“While Father Thomas and his group only took enough food to feed 150 people, more than 300 people came to dinner and each was served a full meal. With leftovers that were donated to three orphanages after the dinner, the group later realized that the Lord had multiplied the food; the event prompted the group to not only return to the garbage dump on a regular basis, but also led them to advocate for better income for the trash pickers, and start additional ministries to the poor such as food banks, a prisoner outreach program, a medical and dental clinic, and student scholarship assistance,” the diocese provided to the U.S. Conference of Bishops.
At the meeting, Baldacchino said “Father Thomas interpreted this unusual event as a sign from God that the Lord wanted him and his companions to continue their work with the poor in Juárez. Now 53 years later these ministries that began with that Christmas Day meal are continuing. There is a food bank, a medical clinic, a Montessori school and four different sites where catechism is taught to children using the catechesis of the Good Shepherd. There are also ministries to youth and to married couples.”
He was also considered a gifted preacher and teacher, often giving talks at conferences, seminars and workshops around the world. He lived an ascetic lifestyle, according to the diocese, sleeping on an army cot or on the floor, living without heating or cooling in the houses or cars he used, wearing his clothes until they were threadbare, and prone to giving away belongings to the poor.
El Paso bishop supports sainthood for Father Thomas
El Paso Diocese Bishop Mark Seitz, who was in attendance at the meeting also supported the possible sainthood of Thomas.
“I didn’t have the opportunity to know Father Thomas. He had died by the time I arrived in El Paso. But I had heard of his work for many years,” Seitz said.
“I think all of us in our work, we’ve had moments where we have really heard of something or experienced something that he said that was a miracle. But someone like Father Thomas, it was like a miracle was almost every day, you know. There were so many things. His trust in God was so incredible. He was part of the early days of the charismatic movement and really a true believer who put his faith into practice in a beautiful way,” Seitz said.
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“And as Bishop Rev. Baldacchino mentioned, we still have many people in the area of El Paso and Las Cruces whose lives were changed by knowing him,” Seitz added. One young man who lived at the Lord’s Ranch went on to be ordained for the Diocese of Las Cruces in 1994.
Thomas died on May 8, 2006, in Las Cruces, after several years of declining health including a battle with cancer. He was laid to rest in the Jesuit plot of Concordia Cemetery in El Paso.
María Cortés González may be reached at 915-546-6150; mcortes@elpasotimes.com; @eptmaria.bsky.social on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Rev. Richard Thomas, who aided Juárez poor, supported for sainthood