This May, we celebrate Fr. Tom McGann and honor his 50 years of loving service. His journey has been full of searching, commitment, and an early vocation that to this day, he follows wherever God leads him next. Looking back, Fr. Tom remembers the moment the Claretian Missionaries came into his life.
That night, the chapel was completely dark. He opened the Bible after praying—his spiritual director had told him to “ask the Lord for a reading.” He needed to receive God’s guidance to decide his future. His vocation was clear: He was a priest, but he needed a new direction.
Fr Tom recalls, “That night, I went into the chapel. I couldn’t see anything, so I had to feel my way through the Bible. I opened it and sensed a passage at the top left page. I marked it. Then I felt another on the opposite page. And then… a third. I remember thinking, “This is strange. I asked for one reading… and I’m getting three.”
Claretians are known for their devotion to the Eucharist and to Mary—and God had answered him clearly and directly. The first passage: “Behold your mother… behold your son.” The second, the soldier piercing Christ’s side, blood and water flowing out, a symbol of the Eucharist. And the third passage? An explanation of the first, with even more meaning. In that moment, everything aligned.
He went to his spiritual director, whose eyes filled with tears when Fr. Tom told her the message he had received. The long search was over, and a new beginning was about to start.
Fr. Tom recalls wanting to be a priest since the age of five. He and his siblings went to Catholic schools, and his parents—both veterans of World War II—were devoted Catholics. He remembers looking at a picture of a very good Franciscan friend of the family who had served as a chaplain during the war and visited their home while traveling. There were pictures of Fr Tom as a baby being carried by that priest, so he always wanted to become a Franciscan.
But when he was in 8th grade, the priest from his parish refused to sign the seminary papers for him to join the Franciscans. He said, “You will be a diocesan.” So he joined the Philadelphia Archdiocese. But his life and his calling proved to be much more than ordinary.
He became a priest at the age of 26, and for 22 years he belonged to the Archdiocese. He served as a chaplain, worked in Catholic schools, and served in parishes. But his call was far stronger.
By nature he is quiet but outspoken when he wanted to see real change in the world. He joined the Plowshares Movement, a Christian pacifist and anti-nuclear weapons movement that advocates active resistance to war. He ended up facing the possibility of being sentenced to 30 years in prison along with three partners. The verdict was reduced to a conviction for trespassing, and he spent 90 days in prison—ending a week earlier due to good behavior—and paid a fine of $500.
His involvement in the Plowshares Movement made his relationship with the Diocese increasingly complicated, to the point where he shared: “I told the diocesan official, ‘I feel like this diocese doesn’t want me.’ And he looked at me and said, ‘Tom, no diocese wants you.'”
His vocation had been clear since he was five years old. So he embarked on a 30-day Ignatian retreat to listen to what God wanted him to do next. After 30 days of silence, praying, and searching, he left with no answer. His spiritual director told him, “You will know within six months.”
In January 1996, around 2:00 in the morning, Fr. Tom woke up suddenly. He had heard a voice during his dreams—clear and direct: “Go to the Claretians.”
He sat up, confused. “Claretians? Who are the Claretians?”
He didn’t even fully recognize the name. So he wrote it down and went back to sleep.
The next morning, he went to his office and found a book on vocations. He looked up the Claretian Missionaries and made a call. That call led to another, and eventually he was connected to the Claretian community on the East Coast. Little by little, without even realizing it, God was guiding him.
He still needed clarity, so he went on another retreat and it was there that his spiritual director asked him to pray for a reading. He was reluctant; it was only the second day of the retreat, it felt too soon. But he followed direction, and the answer was clear: he needed to join the Claretians.
In August 1998, Fr. Tom arrived in Chicago. As he was already a priest, his journey with the Claretians moved quickly after novitiate. He was sent to Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, where he helped at the school and was of great service working with the English-speaking community in a predominantly Hispanic parish. In 2001, he was sent as a missionary to Kingston, Jamaica, and later returned to become the Director of the Candidate House. In 2007, he was missioned again to serve as pastor at Sacred Heart in Springfield, Missouri. He later became Director of Catholic Campus Ministry, and finally, in 2017, he returned to Chicago, where he has served ever since as Treasurer of the Province.
This month, Father Tom is celebrating his 50 years as a priest. We invite you to join us for a 50th Anniversary Mass at 10:30am on Sunday, May 31, 2026. It will be held at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 3200 East 91st Street Chicago, IL 60617.
