Sable, Thomas F. (Father)

Jesuit Father Thomas F. Sable died on Sept. 21, 2018, at Murray-Weigel Hall in the Bronx, New York.

Fr. Sable was born on Aug. 16, 1945, in Rochester, New York, to Frank and Sophia (Anuszkiewicz) Sable (Sobolewski). After his primary education he attended McQuaid Jesuit High School and entered the Society of Jesus on July 30, 1963, at Bellarmine College in Plattsburgh, New York.

He made his juniorate at Shadowbrook and studied philosophy at Weston (1966-69). His regency included teaching Latin for a year at McQuaid in Rochester, a year of Latin and Greek at Canisius High School in Buffalo, New York, and a year of studying Russian and receiving a master’s degree in linguistics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

In 1972, he began his study of theology at the Jesuit School of Theology in Chicago. On June 29, 1975, Fr. Sable was ordained to the priesthood in Williamsville, New York, in the Byzantine rite by Bishop Michael Joseph Dudick of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh.

From 1975 to 1982, he was alternately at John XXIII Center in the Bronx and in graduate studies in religious history at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California. He then moved to the Bronx in 1982, where he taught theology at Fordham University and continued his doctoral studies at the Graduate Theological Union.

In 1985, having earned a Ph.D. in American religious history, Fr. Sable went to the University of Scranton where he taught theology and in 1987, became the editor of Diakonia, a quarterly journal to advance the Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue.

Except for a sabbatical in Romania in 1993, and another in 2000, at Notre Dame and Georgetown Universities, he was editor of Diakonia and professor of theology at Scranton for the next 28 years.

Fr. Sable was very proficient in languages: Russian, Polish and English. He loved classical music, was a great fan of mystery novels, and he was deeply involved in the Scranton University radio station, WUSR. He was also active in celebrating the Byzantine liturgies in the chapel of Ciszek Hall on the Scranton University campus.

Fr. Sable was loved by many of his students. He was known for being interested in their well-being and was generous in his grading of their work. He retired from active teaching at the university in 2015. In July of that year he moved to Murray-Weigel Hall in the Bronx for his assignment to pray for the Church and the Society of Jesus.

He collapsed and died suddenly as he was on his way to the 8:00 a.m. Mass which he attended each day. May he be rejoicing now in glory at the heavenly banquet.