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The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday, November 11, to advance on the local level the cause for beatification and canonization of Fr. Richard M. Thomas, S.J., a Jesuit priest who founded a network of charitable organizations on the U.S. border.
The action item was submitted by Bishop Peter Baldacchino of Las Cruces, New Mexico, who gave a short presentation on Fr. Thomas' life on Tuesday at the assembly.
Fr. Thomas spent most of his ministry living in the Diocese of El Paso and in the Diocese of Las Cruces. He was the founder of The Lord's Ranch Community in Vado, New Mexico.
Speaking to Aleteia, a representative from the community said she was very excited to hear the news that his cause was advanced.
"The Lord's Ranch Community is thrilled with the news that the USCCB has approved the advancement of the cause of beatification and canonization of Father Richard Thomas. We have been working closely with Bishop Peter Baldacchino of the Diocese of Las Cruces to get the process underway," Ellen Hogarty, one of the lay leaders of The Lord's Ranch Community. She previously served as Thomas' personal assistant.
Hogarty continued, "Father Thomas was a very holy priest and inspired many of us to dedicate our lives to serving the Lord. Our community of lay missionaries continues the ministries that he began for the poor in our area on both sides of the US-Mexico border."
"We look forward to hearing from people who have their prayers answered through Father Thomas' intercession."
A life of service to the poor
Born in Florida in 1928, Thomas entered the Jesuits in 1945 after attending a Jesuit high school in Florida. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1958, says the website for The Lord's Ranch Community, an outreach ministry in the Diocese of Las Cruces.
Six years into his priesthood, Fr. Thomas formally began what would become his life's work: caring for the poor on both sides of the southern U.S. border.
In 1964, Thomas became the executive director of Our Lady's Youth Center in El Paso, Texas, a lay apostolate in the city that offered an employment office, credit union, youth sports teams, English lessons, and hot meals.
After he took the reigns of Our Lady's Youth Center, he expanded its scope both literally and figuratively. Thomas opened food banks, medical clinics, dental clinics, schools, and various prison and hospital ministries both in El Paso and across the Rio Grande in Juarez, Mexico.
Miraculous multiplication?
Early in this ministry, it became apparent that something unusual, and possibly miraculous, was happening in Juarez. On Christmas Day, 1972, Fr. Thomas and a group of lay Catholics experienced what Bishop Baldacchino called the "Miracle in the Garbage Dump."
That day,"Fr. Thomas and his companions decided to obey these words of Jesus" organized a meal for the scavengers who lived at the garbage dump in Juarez, said Bishop Baldacchino. They expected about 150 people, and prepared a meal for a crowd that size.
When the group arrived at the dump, they discovered that the crowd was about twice a that number.
"Nevertheless, they decided to share what they had. Much to their surprise, everyone had more then enough to eat," said Bishop Baldacchino, nothing that leftover food from the Christmas meal was donated to two orphanages.
Fr. Thomas took this as a sign to work with the poor in Juarez.
"These ministries that began with that Christmas Day meal are continuing," he said. Today, there's a food bank, medical clinic, Montessori school, and four sites where children are taught catechism, he said. There are also youth and married ministries.
"Fr. Thomas had a foundational vision based on the 25th chapter of Matthew's Gospel, which said 'when you minister to the poor, you minister to me,'" said Bishop Baldacchino.
Pro-life pioneer
As a result of this, he wanted to "live in solidarity with the poor," so he slept in a small room with only a desk, a chair and bed, with no heat, air conditioning, or carpets.
Fr. Thomas, said Bishop Baldacchino, was concerned for both the physical and the spiritual needs of the poor.
He "had an amazing gift from God that enabled him to teach others about spiritual truths in such a simple language that even an elementary school child could understand," said Baldacchino.
"Fr. Thomas recognized that each human being is made in the image of God. This includes the unborn and the immigrant," and he was a "pioneer in the pro-life movement."
Thomas died in 2006, at The Lord's Ranch, at the age of 78.
