Fr Tom Hrywna
Born and raised in Toronto, Fr. Tom completed elementary school at St. Demetrius Ukrainian Catholic School and then graduated from Bishop Allen Academy Catholic Secondary School. He then went on to study at the University of Toronto obtaining a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Philosophy and a double minor in Religious Studies and French as a Second Language in 2011. In January of 2012, Fr. Tom moved to Ottawa and began his seminary formation at Holy Spirit Ukrainian Catholic Seminary and his theology degree at the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies and at St. Paul University.
While studying in Ottawa, Fr. Tom met his wife, Annette, who was studying Canon Law at the same university. They were married in May of 2014. Fr. Tom was ordained to the Minor Orders on October 5, 2014 at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Ottawa, to the Diaconate on March 28, 2015 (Lazarus Saturday), and to the Priesthood on May 25, 2015 (Monday of the Holy Spirit), the latter two at St. Demetrius Ukrainian Catholic Church in Toronto. After a brief pastoral internship at St. Joseph’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Oakville, Fr. Tom was assigned as Parish Priest of our parish on July 15, 2015. In September of 2015, Fr. Tom and Annette welcomed their first child, Catherine, into the world; in December of 2017, their second child and daughter Teresa was born, and in January of 2021, a third daughter, Josephine, was born.
Fr. Tom is an avid Toronto sports fan, loves to travel, and buys more books than he can read.