Fonds - Monsignor Thomas Sears fonds

Thomas Sears (1824-1885), Catholic priest, was born at Ventry, County Kerry, Ireland, in 1824. He immigrated to Nova Scotia with his parents at an early age and grew up in Antigonish County. Sears died at Antigonish on 7 November 1885 and is buried at Antigonish.

Sears was ordained a priest in 1855 for ministry in the Diocese of Arichat (later the Diocese of Antigonish). He was given a pastoral appointment on Cape Breton Island; during his stay he acquired a knowledge of Scottish Gaelic. He served as parish priest at St. Lawrence Parish, Mulgrave. In 1868 he responded to a plea for a Gaelic-speaking priest to serve in western Newfoundland.

Rev. Sears arrived in Newfoundland on 2 November 1868. His first ministry was in the Bay of Islands area, but he relocated to the Codroy Valley where there were many settlers from Cape Breton. He established a reputation as a tireless advocate of government recognition of settlement on a coast that was still adversely affected by the French Shore treaties. In 1870 Sears traveled to St. John's to meet Bishop Thomas Power. In that same year his name was presented to Pope Pius IX by Bishop Power for the office of Prefect Apostolic, St. George's (1870-85).

In 1873 Rev. Sears selected Stephenville as a site for a church and gave the town its name. He supervised the construction of St. Patrick's Church at Woody Point in 1875. In 1881 he visited Pope Leo XIII in Rome to report on the canonical state of the Prefecture of St. George's. He was named a Domestic Prelate by Pope Leo XIII on 11 February 1882, with the title of Monsignor. He organized his parishioners to provide free labour for the erection of ecclesiastical structures and the construction of public works, including roads and schools, particularly in the Codroy Valley. In 1883 St. Ann's Church was built at at Great Conroy River. He was a member of the Board of Trustees for St. Bonaventure's College in 1884.

In 1885, while on a visit to the South Boston area, Rev. Sears became ill and was hospitalized. Upon release from the hospital he attempted to return back to Newfoundland but died at Antigonish, Nova Scotia.