About Deacon Thomas B. Rich, D.Min., J.C.L.
Vocation Director, Retreat Center Director
Deacon Thomas B. Rich, D.Min., J.C.L. was welcomed as a Tertiary of the Society of the Atonement (TSA) ad experimentum in January of 2020. He is the Executive Director of the Holy Mountain Franciscan Retreat Center as well as the Vocations Director.
Deacon Rich serves at Our Lady of Hope Roman Catholic Church, in Carle Place, NY, in parish ministry as the Director of Religious Education. He is involved in diocesan ministry as well as a Diocesan Judge of the Tribunal of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. Deacon Rich is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Canon Law at St. Joseph’s Seminary and College (Yonkers, NY) and teaches Canon Law in the Deacon Formation program at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception (Huntington, NY). He is also a Registered Nurse and Nurse Practitioner.
Deacon Rich holds Master’s degrees in Nursing, Health Education, and Religious Studies, a Licentiate Degree of Canon Law and a Doctor of Ministry degree in Pastoral Counseling. In 1986, he became a professed Secular Franciscan. He is the co-founder of the Society of Franciscan Deacons (2004).
Deacon Rich and his wife of forty years, Anne, have two sons.