On Tuesday we shared the news that Msgr. Tom McSweeney died following a brief illness and hospitalization.

Now the community is pouring out their thoughts about a man of the cloth who was so much more to our community and on the national stage as well.

Dear friend and frequent co-star on stage Patti Sullivan summed McSweeney up best, calling him a renaissance man.

An actor, director, priest, educator, broadcaster and national commentator -- whatever Msgr. Tom McSweeney did, he did with excellence and a deep spirituality. And those who knew him say he drew out the best in everyone around him.  

Anne-Marie Welsh, a long time colleague at the Diocese of Erie said, "Anyone who worked with him, had that personal experience of knowing that he pushed himself to offer the best, so it made us want to do our best as well."

Tom McSweeney discovered his acting talent as a teen, and when called to the priesthood, he took that gift right along with him.

He is credited with starting the communications department and WERG radio station at Gannon University and the Faith Magazine for the Diocese of Erie.  Shawn Clerkin who knew Msgr. McSweeney first as a professor at Gannon, and most recently as a mentor as he moved into a career as an Episcopal priest said he was always encouraging and yet offering tips to help him be better. He described him as one of a kind. "Bigger than life, lover of life, great faithful person,  great teacher, great performer and a great communicator."

McSweeney's skill at public speaking and teaching took him to the national stage as a commentator for NBC during major moments in the life of the Roman Catholic Church including the election of two popes and the death of Pope John Paul I.

Friends and fellow actors say he embodied the characters he played on stage - most memorably Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha, and Henry Higgens in My Fair Lady, changing the lives of those who shared the stage with him.  Patti Sullivan often shared the stage with McSweeney as a co-star.  She said he commanded the stage as soon as he stepped onto it, and embodied the characters.  "We were never just reading from a script -- absolutely never, we were playing off of each other's great chemistry -- we breathed with each other," Sullivan said, calling it a spiritual experience.

His consummate communications skills, and story telling drew people to faith.  "He truly left this world a lot better than he found it," Sullivan said.

Find the full obituary and funeral details by clicking here.