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Oblate Father Tom Singer Reminisces About 50 Years of Ministry

Story by LIZ QUIRIN
Messenger editor

 

Grace and luck, or is it divine providence? Those thoughts rolled across the landscape of Father Thomas Singer’s consciousness as he thought about his 50 years as an Oblate of Mary Immaculate.

A consummate extrovert in a vocation where many of his confreres, both diocesan and religious, tend to be introspective if not introverted, Father Singer spent his early years at St. Patrick’s in East St. Louis.

As most Catholic youth, Tom served at Mass, and his pastor, Father Lawrence J. O’Connell asked if he had ever thought about the priesthood.

He had given it thought, and after eighth grade at St. Patrick’s, enrolled at St. Henry’s Seminary in Belleville. There, he met Oblate Father Bonnie Wittenbrink who asked him whether he wanted to be a diocesan priest or an Oblate. Witnessing the community Oblates enjoyed and realizing he would be “a better person with a group,” he decided to join the Oblates.

After high school, he continued his studies at the Oblate Seminary in Pass Christian, Miss., where he was ordained Sept. 8, 1957.

His first assignment: return to St. Henry’s as a teacher. “We had a great community” there. He taught Latin, German, Speech and Civics.

After four years he was invited to go to the provincial house in St. Paul, Minn. On his resumé, it says “Mission Secretary,” but Father Singer described himself as “kind of his errand boy,” but said he loved it. More than an errand boy, Father Singer set up and conducted mission appeals in 36 dioceses in nine states.

While saying he had little exposure to the missions, he remembers a trip to the slums of Recife, Brazil that gave him a clear sense of the poor and the helpless.

“You’re confronted with the reality of the poor,” Father Singer said, adding he has never complained about a meal since that visit, nor has he been the same. Somehow, any visit to the missions changes a person if he remains open to the grace offered by an experience with the poor.

Through the years, Father Singer has held a number of positions in the academic world, including academic dean at Lewis University in Lockport, Ill., a trustee at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, executive coordinator at the Institute for Spirituality and Worship at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, Calif., among other positions.

He was the priest advisor to the bishops’ Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry in Washington, D.C., a board member and chair of Oblate Media and Communication in St. Louis and a board member on the national Organization for the Continuing Education of Roman Catholic Clergy.

A consultor for the diocese from 1978-1981, Father Singer was also a consultor on the Oblate provincial council in the central province.

Also in the 1970s — 1975-1981, Father Singer was director of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville.

He started a business office and special services department which became the public relations office.
During his time as a consultor and vicar provincial and personnel director in St. Paul, Minn., he received a call to use his skills as a facilitator during a time of crisis for one Oblate priest in Sri Lanka.

It was 1994, and Father Tissa Balasuriya had been excommunicated in January 1993 because of a challenge by the Vatican “for doctrinal positions in his book, ‘Mary and Human Liberation,’” Father Singer said in a newsletter article he wrote more than a year later.

Father Singer had been called in to see if something could be done. Otherwise, Father Balasuriya would be dismissed from the priesthood.

With prayer as his primary preparation, and a note from one of the general councillors at the time, telling him the task of reconciling the Oblate with the Vatican would be difficult, Father Singer went to Sri Lanka.

Father Singer arrived in Sri Lanka as part of a team of Oblates who would meet over the course of a week to see what steps could be taken to rectify the situation.

“I didn’t know him,” Father Singer said, but he knew, “if this is going to work, he has to trust me.”
The two priests went for a walk, “He took me through the slums, and the people knew him,” Father Singer said.

Father Singer said the priests of Sri Lanka with Father Balasuriya showed tremendous hospitality and a willingness to work with the delegation from Rome.

After listening to Father Balasuriya, the group worked out a mutually acceptable compromise, and after returning to Rome with a letter signed by the Sri Lankan Oblate, the excommunication was lifted.

“This was a significant moment for me,” Father Singer said. “It was luck or grace,” and “it felt wonderful when it was completed.”

Again, in 1998, Father Singer found himself in Rome as a delegate to a general chapter of the Oblates. He was expecting to participate in the meetings and return to the United States. Two other Oblates were candidates for the position of general councillor from the States, and according to Father Singer, they spoke multiple languages and were well qualified for the position.

Luck or grace intervened in his life again. One candidate changed his mind and the other withdrew because of a death in his family. “They looked around and found me,” he said.

Thus began a six-year term as general councillor in Rome. While 24 languages were spoken at the general house, Father Singer said, he made friends with a Canadian Oblate who also spoke English — Father Ron Rolheiser.

During his term he attended many meetings, listened to reports and met with five other councillors three times a year.
“Most of them understood English so it became the predominant language,” he said. “I was lucky.”

A month ago, Father Singer began preaching for Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, a non-profit sponsorship organization based in Kansas City, Kan.

He also continues to organize and plan meetings — “I like hopping a plane and facilitating a meeting.”

Looking forward to the future, Father Singer remains open to the spirit and to the possibilities of grace and luck: “You can make God laugh; just tell him your plans.”