Rev. Thomas J. Burke, O.SS.T

It is with great sadness, but also with profound hope in everlasting life, that I inform you of the death of our brother, Fr. Thomas Joseph Burke, O.SS.T. on Friday morning, August 11, 2023 at Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center, Columbia, Maryland.

Fr. Thomas was born on October 19, 1951 in New Castle, Pennsylvania, the son of Thomas J. Burke, Sr. and Elva May (née Riley) Burke. As a seminary prep student, he graduated from DeMatha Catholic High School, Hyattsville, Maryland in 1969. He studied Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Baltimore, Maryland, and the Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, and was awarded a Doctorate in Sacred Theology.

On June 28, 1969, Fr. Tom was received as a Postulant of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives and subsequently entered the Novitiate on August 21, 1971. On September 10, 1977, he professed Solemn Vows at St. Bernard Church, Baltimore, Maryland. Fr. Tom was ordained to the Diaconate at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore on December 3, 1977, and to the Priesthood on May 20, 1978 at St. Matthew’s Church, Baltimore, Maryland.

During his forty-three years of priesthood, Fr. Tom faithfully served the Order and the Church as an educator at the high school and university levels. He was Vice Rector and professor at St. Mary’s Seminary and University where he enjoyed the reputation as an excellent instructor in the field of Systematic Theology. He served the Order as Minister Provincial, Provincial Councilor, Minister Conventual, Formation Director, and as Rector, Department Chair and teacher at DeMatha Catholic High School. For many years, Fr. Tom was a priest in residence at St. Lawrence Martyr Parish in Jessup, Maryland.

Fr. Tom entered semi-retirement and resided at Resurrection of Our Lord Parish in Laurel, Maryland where he provided weekend assistance. As a respected educator at both the college and high school levels, Fr. Tom will be fondly remembered as a teacher who had the ability to successfully instruct students with a variety learning abilities. He continued to maintain communication with some of his former students from DeMatha Catholic High School.

Fr. Tom was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by a sister, Patti Burke, Lexington, Kentucky, and a brother and sister-in-law, Michael and Marcia Burke, Washington, DC. He is also survived by the priests and brothers of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives.

A Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, August 14th at 11:00 AM at St. Lawrence Martyr Catholic Church, 7850 Parkside Blvd., Hanover, Maryland.

Interment will follow at 1:30 PM at New Cathedral Cemetery, 4300 Old Frederick Road, Baltimore, Maryland.

He will long be remembered by us, since “fraternal communion among our religious is not interrupted by death but is strengthened and truly endures through love and prayer” (GD 41). With confidence in the Mercy and Goodness of the Trinity, we request that the suffrages prescribed by our legislation be offered for Fr. Tom.