Xaverian Brother Thomas Murphy, who ministered to poor in Baltimore, dies at 95

Xaverian Brother Thomas Murphy, who ministered to the poor for several years in Baltimore, died Dec. 12. He was 95.

A funeral Mass was held for Brother Thomas in Danvers, Mass., Dec. 15.

After a career as an educator and a missionary in Kenya, Brother Thomas, who went by the religious name of Brother Gavin, did volunteer ministry, teaching English to immigrants as well as assisting the poor in Baltimore. 

The Brooklyn, N.Y., native entered Sacred Heart Novitiate in Fort Monroe, Va., in 1947 where he received the Xaverian habit and religious name Brother Gavin. In 1953, he graduated from the Catholic University of America with a bachelor of arts degree in Latin, French and social studies. Over the next several years, Brother Tom earned a master’s degree in religious studies at St. John’s University and did further studies in Spanish and education at Catholic University and at the University of Maryland. 

Late in life, he joined the Beechfield Community in Baltimore where he was the community animator and was involved in volunteer ministries. When Beechfield closed, he spent three years at Ryken House, a retirement home in Louisville, Ky., before transferring to Danvers in 2019. He spent his final days at Mary Immaculate in Lawrence, Mass.

He was predeceased by his two sisters and his brother. He is survived by several nieces and a nephew. 

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