ABOUT US - MEET THE PASTOR
Father Tom Ferguson was born in Woodside, NY, on May 27, 1966. Father Tom is the oldest of six children of Mary Ann and Joseph Ferguson. After attending St. Sebastian School in Woodside, his family moved to Alexandria, and joined Good Shepherd Parish in 1978. Father Tom graduated from Bishop Ireton High School in 1984.
After graduating from Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales with a Bachelor's degree in Politics in 1987, he earned a Master's degree (in 1989) and a Doctorate (in 1991), in Government, both from the University of Virginia. He then entered Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD, for theological studies. There he earned an M.A. and Master of Divinity in Theology in 1994. His diaconate assignment was at St. Mary Parish in Alexandria. Father Tom was ordained to the priesthood by the late Arlington Bishop John R. Keating on May 21, 1994. He served as Parochial Vicar at St. Bernadette Parish in Springfield from 1994-96.
From 1996 to 1998, Father Tom completed studies leading to a J.C.L. in Canon Law at St. Paul University in Ottawa, Canada. He was appointed in 1998 to the diocesan Tribunal while also serving as Parochial Vicar at St. Luke Parish in McLean.
Father Tom wrote a four-part story series on the history of the Church in Northern Virginia, which was published in the Catholic Herald in the summer of 1999. He is also the author of Catholic and American: The Political Theology of John Courtney Murray, published by Sheed and Ward in 1994.
He has served on several diocesan committees, including a term as Chairman of the Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs Committee and the committee for the diocesan 25th anniversary celebration. He has served for twelve years as secretary and as a member of the Presbyteral Council. Father Tom is a member of the Board of Trustees of Mount St. Mary's University, and the Loyola Retreat House in Faulkner, Maryland.
In 2002, Father Tom was named Administrator at St. Bernadette Parish in Springfield, where he served until 2004, when he was appointed Pastor of St. Thomas á Becket Parish in Reston. He was named a Judge on the Diocesan Tribunal in 2004. In 2008, he was appointed Episcopal Vicar for Faith Formation and Director of the Diaconate Formation Program.
Father Tom became the Pastor of Good Shepherd Catholic Church on June 29, 2011, and he will continue serving as Episcopal Vicar for Faith Formation, Diocesan Judge and Director of the Diaconate Formation Program.