After Deacon Thomas M. Cavanaugh graduated from Bishop
O’Connell High School in Arlington in 1999, he didn’t
immediately go off to college like most of his contemporaries
– he went to Europe.
He was born in 1981 and raised in a Catholic family by
parents Mike and Susan. The family attended St. Agnes Church
in Arlington, but it wasn’t until Europe that he came to
develop his faith fully.
It was on a short trip to Rome in 2000 when he read the
Gospels and had what he called his “big conversion” in St.
Peter’s Square. It was where he finally came to know the
living God.
After his Rome experience, he became active in Young Life
International, a non-denominational youth ministry group that
brings the Gospel to adolescents around the world. He worked
in Ethiopia for a year with the group.
He returned to the United States and continued his studies,
first at Northern Virginia Community College and then on to
study philosophy and theology at the Franciscan University in
Steubenville, Ohio.
He returned to Arlington in 2005, enrolled at Marymount
University and earned a bachelor’s degree in theology and
art.
In 2006, after years of discernment, he entered Mount St.
Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md.
On June 8, Deacon Cavanaugh will be ordained a priest at the
Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington, the culmination of
years of discernment.
In preparation for this day, Deacon Cavanaugh has been
serving at St. Philip Church in Falls Church.
In addition to working with priests like Fathers Denis M.
Donahue, pastor, and Luke R. Dundon, parochial vicar, he said
it was the emphasis on discipleship and evangelization at St.
Philip that inspired him.
Last September, St. Philip held an evangelizing event that
coincided with its parish picnic.
It was a door-to-door event where volunteers and seminarians
went to homes in the neighborhood in a spirit of
discipleship.
“Our selling point was not ‘You really have to accept the
Gospel,'” said Deacon Cavanaugh.
It was an invitation to join the community at the St. Philip
picnic.
“Join the festivities,” were the key words of the day.
If people expressed an interest in the faith, the
parishioners were told to encourage that interest with prayer
and offer them a visit or call from a priest.
There were positive results from the visits; one neighbor
actually came to Sunday Mass.
His time at St. Philip is ending and as the time of his
ordination approaches, Deacon Cavanaugh said he is “immensely
joyful and excited.”
He said there were many priests who helped him find and
develop his vocation, but many lay persons too.
“Kip Vaile was the first (person) to really challenge me to
read the Gospels,” said Deacon Cavanaugh.
Vaile was a former supervisor who became his “spiritual big
brother.” The two still meet three or four times a year to
study the Gospel.
The man who was responsible for instilling a love of
evangelization was pro-life lawyer Sam Casey. They meet twice
a year to discuss discipleship and evangelization issues.
Cecelia Schmitt, former assistant for vocation promotion in
the diocesan Office of Vocations, taught him the interior
life of a disciple of Christ.
“We would pray for each other,” Deacon Cavanaugh said.
Finally he credited his mother and father.
“If there’s any goodness in me, it’s because of what I
received from my parents.”
