Rev. Nicodemus Thomas, O.P. ’18 is ordained a Dominican priest
By Vicki-Ann Downing ’21G
Rev. Nicodemus Thomas, O.P. ’18, the newest Dominican priest from Providence College, was ordained by Archbishop Anthony Fisher, O.P. on June 5, 2025, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
The Ordination Mass concluded the Dominican Provincial Assembly, which drew more than 250 Dominicans from around the country. The great number of friars attending showcased the fraternal life of the Dominican Order — fitting, because it was that fraternity that attracted Father Nicodemus to the Dominicans.
Known as Nate Thomas while at PC, Father Nicodemus is serving his first assignment as parochial vicar at St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish in Charlottesville, Virginia. The parish serves the University of Virginia and the surrounding region. Six Dominican priests are in residence there, including Rev. Damian Day, O.P. ’15, who is pursuing a doctorate in ancient history and was a classmate of Father Nicodemus at PC and in the seminary.
Father Nicodemus said the idea of the priesthood was in the back of his mind when he began classes at PC and grew stronger through his experiences with the Dominicans. He was attracted by the way the friars prayed and their wisdom in the classroom.
“These are guys who really understood the truths of the faith,” Father Nicodemus said. “Their work together had an impact. Jesuits can be lone wolves; Dominicans do their work as a team.”
During his first year at PC, Father Nicodemus watched as Father Damian applied to and entered the Dominican Order. As a junior, he attended a vocation weekend at the Dominican House of Studies in D.C., then spent the spring semester abroad with the PC in Rome Program. While in Europe, he prayed at the tombs of St. Catherine of Siena and St. Dominic.
Father Nicodemus lived in an apartment in Cunningham Hall during his senior year with two friends who later joined him at the Dominican House of Studies — Daniel Arteaga ’19, now Rev. Brother Raphael Arteaga, O.P., and Sean Tobin ’20, now Brother Jeremiah Tobin, O.P.
“Just to say a word about the fraternal life at the House of Studies — there were some really good brothers who I studied with, some really great men with whom I had seven years,” Father Nicodemus said. “There were men who before me who are now priests and men who will be priests after me. You form great friendships.”
Among the six men ordained with Father Nicodemus was Rev. Gregory Santy, O.P., now assigned to PC as an assistant chaplain.
Father Nicodemus’s religious name honors St. Nicodemus, a Pharisee who heard Jesus preach in John 3:1-16. Jesus worked secretly in his heart, and at the end of Jesus’s life, after most of his friends had abandoned him, Nicodemus came to him to bury him.
“I hope that the Lord will continue to work in my heart like St. Nicodemus,” Father Nicodemus said.
“In the Dominican order and life, I have fallen in love with preaching,” Father Nicodemus added. “I love preaching. And whatever that means, in whatever capacity that’s going to be, I look forward to preaching and teaching the faith wherever I’m sent.”
