Nachruf-Infos:
Caremelite Priest Thomas Butler Dies
(13. Juni 2023; Darien, IL) Die Provinz vom Reinsten Herzen Mariens (PCM), Orden der Karmeliten, trauert um Reverend Thomas Butler, O. Carm., der am Dienstag, den 13. Juni 2023, im Alter von 97 Jahren verstorben ist.
Rosary and viewing for Reverend Thomas Butler, O. Carm., will be at 5:30 pm on Thursday, June 15, 2023, at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, 5150 North Valley View Road, Tucson, AZ, 85718. Funeral Mass will be held the following day, Friday, June 16, 2023, at 10:00 am, also at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish. Immediately following Mass, interment will be at Holy Hope Cemetery, 3555 N Oracle Rd, Tucson, AZ 85705, immediately followed by a reception at Salpointe Catholic High School, 1545 E Copper St, Tucson, AZ 85719.
Thomas wurde als Sohn von (dem verstorbenen) Patrick Burnard Butler und (der verstorbenen) Regina Ruth (Bradshaw) Butler am 17. Februar 1926 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, geboren. Bei der Taufe wurde er auf den Namen Thomas Burnard Butler getauft. Er verstarb vor seinen Brüdern Paul, Jim, Jack, Patrick und Edward und seiner Schwester Mary Regina. Er hinterlässt eine Schwester, Catherine Mooney.
Thomas besuchte die St. Paul Cathedral Grade School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; die St. Boniface Grade School in Penn Station, Pennsylvania; und die St. Francis de Sales Grade School in McKee's Rocks, Pennsylvania. Er besuchte das Karmelitenseminar in Niagara Falls, Ontario, und trat anschließend in das Noviziat der Karmeliten in New Baltimore, Pennsylvania, ein. Am 15. August 1944 legte er die einfachen Gelübde als Karmelit ab und nahm den Ordensnamen Aidan an. Danach studierte er Philosophie am Mount Carmel College in Niagara Falls, Ontario, und legte am 28. September 1947 seine feierliche Profess bei den Karmeliten ab. Er besuchte Whitefriars Hall und die Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, wo er Theologie studierte. Thomas wurde am 6. Juni 1950 zum Karmelitenpriester geweiht. Weitere Studien absolvierte er an der St. Bonaventure University in Olean, New York, und an der University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona.
Pater Thomas wurde 1951 zum ersten Mal als Lehrer und stellvertretender Sportdirektor an die Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, Illinois, berufen. Im Jahr 1956 wurde er als Lehrer und Sportdirektor an die Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, Arizona, versetzt. 1963 diente er ein Jahr lang als Hilfspfarrer in der Pfarrei St. Jane Frances de Chantal in North Hollywood, Kalifornien. Im Jahr 1964 wurde er Hilfspfarrer an der St. Cecilia Pfarrei sowie Lehrer und Sportdirektor an der St. Cecilia High School in Englewood, New Jersey. 1966 kehrte er an die Mount Carmel High School in Chicago zurück, wo er bis 1969 als Lehrer und sportlicher Leiter tätig war. Danach unterrichtete er ein Jahr lang an der Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, Kalifornien, und wurde dann Hilfspfarrer an der St. Leo Parish in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1975 wurde Pater Thomas für zwei Jahre Hilfspfarrer in der Pfarrei St. Albert in Houston, Texas, und wechselte dann 1977 zur Pfarrei St. Bernadette in Houston, wo er zunächst bis 1984 als Hilfspfarrer und dann bis 1996 als Pfarrer tätig war. Danach wurde er Pfarrvikar in der Pfarrei Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Louisville, Kentucky, wo er zwei Jahre lang tätig war. Im Jahr 1998 zog er sich in das Priorat Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Tucson, Arizona, zurück, wo er bis zu seinem Tod blieb.
Möge er in Frieden ruhen.
Spenden zu Ehren von Reverend Thomas Butler, O. Carm., können getätigt werden an: The Society of Mount Carmel, 1317 North Frontage Road, Darien, Illinois, 60561.
Für weitere Informationen über Reverend Thomas Butler, O. Carm. oder den Orden der Karmeliten, wenden Sie sich bitte an Carmelite Media unter (630) 971-0724 oder besuchen Sie die Website der Karmeliten unter www.carmelites.net.
Celebrating 70 Years as a Carmelite
By Carissa Krautscheid
The Reverend Thomas “Aidan” Butler, O.Carm., is celebrating 70 years as a Carmelite priest. Many of those years have been spent in support of Salpointe Catholic High School and living at Salpointe’s Carmelite Priory.
Fr. Tom joined the Carmelites at the age of 13 when he was encouraged by a nun to attend high school at the Carmelite Seminary in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Fr. Tom was ordained a priest on June 6, 1950, at the age of 24. He will turn 95 on February 17, 2021, and is the senior member of the Carmelite Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary. Though not quite the oldest Carmelite, Fr. Tom has been a professed Carmelite longer than any other living member.
Throughout his life, Fr. Tom has been known to skydive, hunt, paint, photograph, and write more sermons than he can count. This remarkable priest has worked at 10 high schools and parishes across the country, leaving behind an amazing legacy everywhere he has gone.
Tom was born in Pittsburgh, PA, to a family of athletes. “Everyone in the family played sports! My dad was a professional football player back before there were these big professional teams,” says Fr. Tom. “He was known to be outstanding! My younger brother Jack played professional ball for the Pittsburgh Steelers and he was among their best.” Jack Butler was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012. The Butler family is still very close friends with the Rooney family, founders and owners of the Steelers, and Fr. Tom can often be seen sporting Steelers attire.
Yes, the Butlers were a family of athletes, and Fr. Tom was no different. Athletics have always been important to Fr. Tom. “Wherever I was stationed with the Carmelites, I took athletics as a big part of my life,” says Fr. Tom. “It was always my forte. I wanted to do the best I could. The kids gave me the inspiration to do my best. We did well wherever I was and won
championships.”
As the Assistant Athletic Director at Mount Carmel High School, Chicago, in the 1950s, Fr. Tom was there “during the glory years when they won three city championships in a row. It was a blast.” Later, as the Athletic Director, Fr. Tom led Mt. Carmel to two more city championships, in football and basketball, in the same year.
Fr. Tom came to Salpointe just three years after the Carmelites took over running the school. He served as Salpointe’s Athletic Director from 1956 to 1962, when the Lancers also won many championships. Those years were among the highlights of his life. “I had many appointments with the Carmelites,” he said, “but Salpointe was one of the best of them.”
The Carmelites lived at Sacred Heart Church in military Quonset huts until 1956 when the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Priory was built. Fr. Tom was the cross-bearer when Bishop Daniel Gercke came to bless the new Priory. “When I arrived,” he says, “there was hardly anything there at all! I watched the buildings come to life.” During his time with the Lancers, Fr. Tom had a role in the construction of the stadium, gymnasium and six tennis courts. New facilities were built and new traditions were formed.
During his time at Salpointe, Fr. Tom taught geometry and religion. He also moderated the Lettermen’s Club and coached track and cross country, often running alongside the students. In 1956 Fr. Tom helped to coach the cross country team to the school’s first League and Division championships and he still receives letters from those athletes he coached over 60 years ago.
Later, serving as the pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Clear Lake, TX, Fr. Tom came to know many of the local astronauts and parishioners who worked for NASA. “They always took something of mine or the parish’s up into space,” he recalls. Fr. Tom sent the first Carmelite scapular into space. He also made the astronauts Eucharistic Ministers so they could give each other Holy Communion while in space. While offering the opening prayer at an annual Space Agency dinner, Fr. Tom mentioned “the first man on the moon.” After dinner, a man approached and said, “I am that first man on the moon.” Fr. Tom was shaking hands with Neil Armstrong (Catholic Exchange, 2007).
During his time in Texas, Fr. Tom wrote a weekly article for the parish bulletin. One parishioner decided to collect two years of stories and sermons and publish them as a book, The Good Word, which continues to provide inspiration to readers today. Fr. Tom has copies of his countless sermons covering an entire wall in his room. He occasionally sends them off to friends or parishes and some have even been made available online, by popular demand, on the St. Thomas the Apostle Parish website.
Fr. Tom retired to Tucson in 1998 and, along with his friend Br. Tom Conlon, O.Carm., has attended every softball game and prayed with the team before every practice. He was inducted into Salpointe’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1995 and remains one of the Lancers’ greatest fans. “I can’t tell you how moved I was to be named to the Sports Hall of Fame,” he said. “I’ll never forget that experience.”
Fr. Tom’s faith has been fueled by a lifelong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. “She is the beginning and the end of everything,” he says. “I ask for her aid and help.”
A man of many interests, Fr. Tom has also enjoyed photography and painting. He used to paint the members of his house and hang their images on the wall for them to see.
Always an avid sportsman, Fr. Tom used to take a jeep out to go hunting in the mountains with Br. Tom. “The Two Toms,” as they became known around Tucson, also went skydiving together three times, back when solo skydiving was the only way to jump out of a plane. “We went skydiving until the Prior found out,” he says with a chuckle. “We didn’t go anymore after that.”
Fr. Tom Butler has lived a long life, full of adventure and community. His energy and enthusiasm are remarkable after 70 faith-filled years as a Carmelite priest. When asked about the eventual journey to Heaven, Fr. Tom thought he might not become one of the well-known saints. Laughing, he said, “I might just sneak in Heaven’s back door.”