El Padre Tomas

My father attended mass at St. Cajetan's Catholic Church and became friends with the two priests from Spain. There was the pastor, Fr. James Prohens who wrote poetry, and Fr. Tomas Fraile, the younger priest. He admired their knowledge of the Catholic faith and enjoyed getting into debates about religion with them.

When Fr. Tomas arrived in Denver in July of 1963, I remember my Father saying, "He has a way of speaking that is sometimes difficult to understand.  He uses words not used around here. If that priest is going to make it, he is going to have learn to talk more like we do here in Colorado." Since St. Cajetan's was not my parish, I have no way of knowing whether Fr. Tomas spoke differently or if he learned to use common local words, but I do know that eventually he became a favorite and was loved by the Hispanic community.

I see comments on Facebook, read about his life, and what I remember of him, and it proves that Fr. Tomas was not only a leader, but a devout, caring and blessed man loved by those who knew him. He celebrated fifty years of being a priest in 2013 and was seventy-six when he passed away. In 2007, Fr. Tomas became pastor of St. Cajetan's after Fr. James Prohens at the age of ninety-six, passed away.

Working for Centro San Juan Diego, the Hispanic office of the Archdiocese of Denver, I would see Fr. Tomas at different functions. Somehow, our conversations always ended up being about my Dad. I remember Fr. Tomas saying, "Your Dad asks lots of questions and I, with my knowledge of theology, have to stop and think!" I often wondered if Father knew my name because he always seemed to refer to me as "Silvio's daughter."

The last rites for my father were done by a priest who worked in the same office I did. When Fr. Tomas
heard that he had not been called I could tell he was hurt. "Why did you not call me, your father was my friend. I would have loved to have one last conversation with him." Fr. Tomas did celebrate the mass and gave a wonderful eulogy about their friendship.

Even though I had not seen Fr. Tomas for at least ten years, I feel an emptiness in my heart. What gives me consolation is knowing that he and my Dad are together and they can now discuss religion to their heart's content!

 "If you do your best,

The Lord will do the rest."

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A favorite saying of Fr. Tomas