Reverend Thomas P. Ferguson

Father Thomas P. Ferguson, pastor of Good Shepherd Church in Alexandria, was born in Woodside, New York, May 27, 1966, the oldest of six children of Joseph and Mary Ann Ferguson. After attending St. Sebastian School in Woodside, his family moved to Alexandria, where he graduated from Bishop Ireton High School in 1984.

After graduating from Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales in 1987, he earned a master’s degree (1989) and a doctorate (1991) in government from the University of Virginia. He then entered Mount St. Mary Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, for theological studies. His diaconate assignment was at St. Mary Church in Alexandria.

Father Ferguson was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop John R. Keating May 21, 1994. He served as parochial vicar at St. Bernadette Church in Springfield (1994-96). From 1996 to 1998, Father Ferguson completed studies in canon law at St. Paul University in Ottawa, Canada. He was appointed to the diocesan tribunal in 1998 while also serving as parochial vicar of St. Luke Church.

In 2002, Father Ferguson was named administrator of St. Bernadette Church, where he served until 2004, when he was appointed pastor of St. Thomas à Becket Church in Reston. He was named a judge on the tribunal in 2004. In 2008, he was appointed episcopal vicar for faith formation and director of the diaconate formation program, with residence first at St. Ann Church in Arlington and later at St. Luke Church in McLean.

Father Ferguson was appointed pastor of Good Shepherd Church in June 2011 while continuing to serve as episcopal vicar for faith formation, diocesan judge, and director of the diaconate formation program. He served as vicar general and moderator of the curia from October 2015 through December 2019.

Father Ferguson has served on numerous diocesan councils and committees. He has written a four-part 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, which was published by Sheed and Ward in 1994.