Friends and colleagues of Father Thomas A. Baima gathered Sept. 19 to remember him, focusing on his warmth and dedication to ecumenical and interreligious dialogue.

The memorial service included reflections and prayers from several religious traditions, as well as remembrances from his colleagues and friends in the Archdiocese of Chicago.

“Let our gathering be one reminder of the gift Father Tom gave us, to build relationships to foster peace in our world,” said Daniel Olsen, director of the archdiocese’s Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.

Baima, 69, died April 20. He worked in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue for nearly all of his priestly ministry, and had served as the archdiocesan Vicar for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs since 2012. He had worked in the Office of Ecumenical and Interreligous Affairs from 1983 to 2000, serving as director for several years.

He was on the faculty of the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary since 2000, teaching systematic theology with a focus on interreligious dialogue. In 2011, he became vice rector of the University of St. Mary of the Lake, and he became provost in 2020.

Cardinal Cupich offered his condolences to those who gathered, most of whom he met through Baima.

“We’re grateful for the relationships and the support that you gave him,” Cardinal Cupich said.

The cardinal called ecumenism and interreligious dialogue a “lifelong mission” for Baima, starting from his time in seminary.

“His classmates recall his keen interest in ecumenism those early years, his collaborative nature, and his kindness reaching out to people of various backgrounds,” Cardinal Cupich said. “He looked upon people’s differences as gifts, not as obstacles or burdens. This focus and these characteristics served him well as a seminarian and newly ordained priest and in the various responsibilities he undertook during his 42 years of priesthood.”

The cardinal recalled a viewpoint Baima often shared.

“Locally, nationally and internationally, Father Tom Baima emphasized building relationships, because if you get the relationships right, the issues work out. That seems to me to be a lesson for all of us in our lives, in our families and communities. … He realized that his service as a priest was not about him building a career. It wasn’t his priesthood. It was a priesthood that allowed him to bring the entire corporate reality of who we are as a church, as the Body of Christ, into the world as he interacted with people of all faiths and none.”

Rabbi Reni Dickman, executive vice president of the Chicago Board of Rabbis, praised Baima’s “ever patient and thoughtful” demeanor, saying he was a “mensch” who encouraged her in her ministry as well helping the Jewish community in dialogue not only with Catholics, but with other community partners.

“Father Baima’s life is a sacred text for us to study,” she said.

Imam Kareem Irfan, chairman of the interfaith committee of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, said Baima was not just a partner in interfaith dialogue, he was a dear friend.

“My own passion for interfaith bridge building was fueled much by Tom’s scholarly perspective and desire to inform others, by building bonds with the Chicago Archdiocese and its revered cardinals,” said Irfan, a past chairman of both the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago and of the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago.

Irfan said his discussions with Baima went beyond the affairs of the archdiocese and the Islamic community of Chicago, extending to “the crosscurrents of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. These equipped me with a better mindset and a broader knowledge base for interfaith relationships across the globe.”

Chorbishop George Toma of the Assyrian Church of the East recalled arriving in the United States and looking for a place to further his seminary studies. Someone suggested he call Baima; when Baima returned his call, he was already registered at a Catholic seminary in Connecticut.

When Chorbishop Toma was leading an Assyrian congregation in the Chicago suburbs, Baima connected him with Maryville in Des Plaines, and sometimes joined the congregation on Sundays during the seven years they used the chapel there.

“Today, I believe his soul is in heaven, and he is praying for us,” Chorbishop Toma said.

Bishop Yehiel Curry of the Metropolitan Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, reminded the people who gathered Baima continues to live in the hearts of those who remember him, and Rev. Dominic Barrington, dean of St. James Episcopal Cathedral in Chicago, compared Baima to the United Kingdom’s late Queen Elizabeth II in his emphasis on bringing people together.

“He was somebody who understood the value of drawing communities together and exercises what we all know was remarkable, wisdom, subtlety, honesty and insight as he worked tirelessly for the one God in drawing as many people as he could together to a common vision, a challenge and an inspiration for all of us who are people of faith,” Barrington said.

Aarti Tejuja, Ordinary Intuitive and Antara, participated in a Vatican Buddhist-Catholic encounter in 2015. She said she chose to speak from her heart rather than notes, since Baima “was so real. He spoke from his heart.”

She recalled going to Mundelein to meet with him.

“We’d set it up as a meeting, but we would just chat,” she said. “And we would chat and chat, after a while, he would say, ‘Do you want to stay for lunch?’ And I always would. I loved him so much. I know all of you did too. He was just a beautiful human being. He was my friend. I can still feel him in my heart.”