Father Thomas Mescall served as St. Adrian pastor

From staff reports

The Rev. Thomas J. Mescall, retired archdiocesan priest and former pastor of St. Adrian Parish, died Feb. 1. He was 74 years old.

He served the Archdiocese of Chicago as associate pastor of St. Terrence Parish in Alsip and St. Denis Parish in the Ashburn neighborhood. He was also chaplain of the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago and served as pastor at St. Adrian Parish until he retired in 2018.

He was born on Dec. 9, 1947, in Chicago. He attended St. Leo Catholic School and Leo High School. Father Mescall attended the University of Albuquerque, N.M., and graduated in 1973 from the John Marshall Law School, now known as University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.

Prior to joining the priesthood, he practiced law in Albuquerque, N.M., until 2000, serving as a judge for 17 years in municipal, metropolitan, district and probate courts. He married and had two children. After his divorce, his marriage was nullified.

Father Mescall always felt a pull toward priesthood and in 2000, he entered the Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wis., where he earned his Master of Divinity.

He was ordained to the priesthood on May 22, 2004, by Cardinal Francis George, whom he met a few times on pilgrimages in the Holy Land. Father Mescall celebrated his first solemn Mass on May 23 of the same year at St. Terrence Church.

The oldest candidate of the 2004 class, he told the Catholic New World newspaper prior to his ordination that “some laborers arrive early and others come late, but Jesus tells us that the wages are the same.” Father Mescall added we all have to do our part in loving God and neighbor. “I hope God will make good use of my talent in building up the Body of Christ. We’re never too young or too old to do that,” Mescall said.

According to a statement from his family, “Father. Tom had a great love for the ‘little guy’ and the homeless. He was active in supporting the Brothers of the Good Shepherd in Albuquerque and especially the leadership of Brother Mathias Barrett. He was Brother Matthias’ pro bono attorney and a benefactor of the community.”

The Rev. John Carney, retired priest of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in New Mexico and Mescall’s close friend of 30 years, remembered Mescall’s deep devotion to St. Josephine Bakhita. “He had a very beautiful statue of her prepared and dedicated at St. Adrian’s before he left the parish.” Carney noted that Mescall’s burial day fell on St. Bakhita’s feast day.

Father Mescall was remembered with his favorite quote from St. Augustine, shared by his daughter, Judge Regina Ann Mescall: “You made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.”

Services were Feb. 7 from a Catholic center in Albuquerque. Burial was at Mount Calvary Cemetery.