2000 – Second Place – Spot News Reporting – Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association (Division B)
By TERRY LANE
Journal staff writer
June 9, 2000
Stunned by the violent death of Monsignor Thomas Wells yesterday, grieving parishioners and clergy remembered him as a priest who filled their hearts with faith, hope and spirit.
And laughter.
“Anyone who came to see his sermon would leave not only understanding the message he wanted to spread,” said Henry Levy, a nine-year member of Mother Seton parish in Germantown. “They would leave laughing and with a smile on their face.”
In his 29 years as a priest in the Washington area, Wells’ enthusiasm for the job never faded, said the Rev. Thomas Kalita of St. Peter Catholic Church in Olney.
“He was so in love with being a priest,” Kalita said. “His enthusiasm was so great he convinced several young people to join the priesthood.”
Wells, 56, served in several parishes in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties after he was ordained a priest in 1971. He became pastor of Mother Seton in January 1999.
Of the skills he learned along the way, several parishioners said his greatest talent may have been communicating with children.
Wells had a habit of dropping by unexpectedly at Sunday School classes to tell the children Bible stories. His warm demeanor and upbeat personality captured the children’s attention as he added his sense of humor to the classic scriptures, said Diane Levy, who attends the church with her husband, Henry.
“Even after sermons he would gather the children around the altar and tell them stories,” Diane Levy said. “They loved it.”
Born in Chevy Chase, Wells attended Blessed Sacrament school and graduated from St. John’s College High School in Washington in 1962. He graduated from Boston College and Christ the King Seminary in St. Bonaventure, N.Y.
Wells began his career as an assistant pastor of Sacred Heart in Bowie. Before he was appointed pastor of St. Mark in Hyattsville in 1987, he served as associate pastor of St. Mark and St. Andrew the Apostle in Silver Spring.
In 1991, Wells was honored with the title monsignor.
Wells served as pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda from 1994 until he was named pastor of Mother Seton in 1999.
“I had great affection and respect for Monsignor Wells and for his willingness to serve the church wherever needed,” Cardinal James Hickey, Archbishop of Washington, said in a statement. “He was a man of deep faith, great fidelity and loving dedication.”
Hickey asked for prayers from “every person of good will,” including prayers for “an end to senseless violence in our society.”
Wells had loves other than his work, according to those who knew him. He enjoyed a round of golf, Kalita said. Other parishioners said he loved flowers and finer things, such as china. The parish often was decorated with colorful flowers.
But most of all, Wells loved his family, Kalita said. Wells’ parents have passed away, but he has three sisters and a brother in the area.
“They’re taking things pretty hard,” Kalita said.
And while Wells cherished his position at the altar, he frequently stepped aside when other priest came to town.
When parishioner Mike Kuchinsky’s daughter had her first communion, Wells let Kuchinsky’s brother, the Rev. Bill Kuchinsky from St. Michael’s in Wheeling, W.Va., conduct the ceremony.
“He welcomed other pastors into the parish,” Mike Kuchinsky said. “He enjoyed listening to a sermon as much as he enjoyed giving one.”
Kuchinsky, a Secret Service agent, said he has seen this type of violence often at work, but never expected it to strike this close to home.
Both Montgomery County and church officials have assigned grief counselors to the parish.
“It is a time to stir up the faith we know is there,” Kalita said. “It is a time to remember our faith.”
While holding back tears, Henry Levy said he would know what Wells would tell them from his new home in heaven.
“He would tell all the parishioners to pray for whoever killed him,” Levy said. “Monsignor Wells has already forgiven whoever did this.”