Dedicated Oblate, pastor, teacher and friend
HIGH POINT — Oblates of St. Francis de Sales Father Thomas Patrick Norris passed away Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, after a brief illness.
Father Norris, 79, was a professed member of the Oblates for 60 years and a priest for 52 years. A teacher, superior, pastor and friend, Father Norris was a dedicated Oblate and priest.
Viewing will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in High Point. An additional viewing will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in the church. The Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 11 a.m.
A Memorial Mass will be offered on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, at Our Lady of Light Chapel at the Oblate Retirement Center in Childs, Maryland. Visitation will be held from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. The Mass will begin at 11:30 a.m., followed by lunch. A private burial will be held at the Oblate Cemetery at Childs.
Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Feb. 28, 1946, he was the son of Richard Norris and Margaret (Huber) Norris. He attended St. Theresa of the Child Jesus grade school and Bishop McDevitt High School. Following graduation, he entered the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales and made his first profession of vows in 1965. He spent the next two years teaching at Father Judge High School in Philadelphia.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy from Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales (now DeSales University) in 1970. He continued his theological studies at De Sales School of Theology in Washington, D.C., and was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Gerald McDevitt on June 16, 1973, at Our Lady of Ransom Parish in northeast Philadelphia.
After ordination, Father Norris was assigned to Father Judge High School as a teacher and chairman of the theology department. Father Norris was well liked and respected among the school’s students, faculty and staff, and many graduates recall his kindness and dry sense of humor. During this time, he earned an M.A. in English from Villanova University. In 1980, he left Father Judge High School and was assigned to Holy Name High School in Reading, Pennsylvania, where he served as a teacher and religious superior.
In 1983, Father Norris went to Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virginia, as a teacher and religious superior of the Oblate community. In 1990, when his term as superior ended, Father Norris took a sabbatical and studied at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.
When he returned to the United States, Father Norris began his long association with the Catholic community in North Carolina. He initially moved to the Tar Heel State to serve as campus minister at Greensboro College, Guilford College and University of North Carolina-Greensboro. After two years in college ministry, Father Norris was assigned to parish ministry, serving as assistant pastor at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in High Point. In 1997, Father Norris was transferred to St. Mary Parish in Goldsboro, where he served as parochial vicar. Once more, “Father Tom” (as he became known in North Carolina) became an integral part of the local community and was noted for his dedication to the people of the parish. In 2004, he was named pastor there.
When he left Goldsboro in 2012, Father Norris returned to Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in High Point. He always loved the people of High Point and they loved him. Amid staffing issues and other challenges in the parish, he remained a gentle and supportive presence.
In 2017, Father Norris was asked to take on the responsibility of acting pastor. Once more, he accepted the assignment with grace and goodwill.
Over the last few years as aging and health issues slowed him down, Father Norris never wavered in his commitment to the Church or the people of IHM. He was always willing to help in any way he could, and he never stopped serving. The morning of his death, he had been preparing to celebrate a funeral Mass for a parishioner he had just visited and anointed earlier in the week.
Father Norris is preceded in death by his parents and his brother Dennis. He is survived by his parish family and his Oblate confreres.
Condolences may be sent to the Provincial Superior of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales: Rev. Jack Kolodziej, OSFS, 2200 Kentmere Pkwy., Wilmington, DE 19806.
— Catholic News Herald