Thomas Paul Dwyer, O.S.A.

1932 – 2024 (December 9)

Fr. Thomas P. Dwyer, O.S.A., was born on October 23, 1932, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, the son of James and Ann (McGroary) Dwyer. He was baptized on November 6, 1932, at Saint Colman Catholic Church, Ardmore, PA. He attended Saint Denis Parish School, Havertown, PA from 1938 to 1946, West Catholic High School, Philadelphia, PA from 1946 to 1949, and for his last year of high school, he attended Augustinian Academy, Staten Island, NY, as a postulant in 1949. He was received into the Order as a novice on September 9, 1950, and after a year at Good Counsel Novitiate, New Hamburg, NY, he professed first vows on September 10, 1951. He then went to Villanova University from 1951 to 1955, and he received a BA in Philosophy. He professed solemn vows on September 10, 1954. He was assigned to Collegio Santa Monica, Rome for his theological studies from 1955 to 1959, and he was ordained in Rome on December 20, 1958.

Fr. Tom volunteered for the Japanese mission in 1959, where he served for 51 years in each of the four mission parishes: Our Mother of Consolation in Nagasaki, Saint Augustine in Fukuoka, Saint Augustine in Tokyo and Saint Monica in Nagoya. He was parochial vicar, pastor, prior, treasurer, as well as regional superior. He often said that he felt more at home in Japan than in the US, after so many years of residence there. He always believed that his middle name, Paul, was an encouragement to him in his mission work. He was known to be a gracious and generous priest, a compassionate and gentle minister of the Gospel, a faith-filled Augustinian friar and a person of hope, patience and joy.

Fr. Tom returned to the US in 2010 and was assigned to St. Thomas Monastery. But his care and concern for our Augustinian brothers in Japan and the people they served never stopped, as he kept in touch with them and was an advocate for them. Fr. Tom passed away peacefully on December 9, 2024 at the Monastery.