Tamás József Pillisch (Thomas Joseph Pillisch) was born in 1938 in Bow Island (Alberta, Canada). He was ordained a permanent deacon of the Archdiocese of Toronto in 1978. As a deacon, he served at St. Benedict and St. Andrew parishes in Toronto. In addition, he served as a prison chaplain at the Toronto West Detention Centre for 17 years. He did significant charitable work with the Catholic aid organization Chalice: he was a personal sponsor for eight children and secured sponsors for more than 3,200 children. His wife was Elizabeth (Erzsike), with whom he was married for fifty years. They had three children—Brigitte, Tom, and Paul—and five grandchildren. After a long battle with cancer, he passed away while praying on December 14, 2009, at the Southlake Regional Health Centre.Tamás József Pillisch (Thomas Joseph Pillisch) was born in 1938 in Bow Island, Alberta, Canada. He was ordained a permanent deacon of the Archdiocese of Toronto in 1978. As a deacon, he served at St. Benedict and St. Andrew parishes in Toronto. In addition, he served as a prison chaplain at the Toronto West Detention Centre for 17 years. He did significant charitable work with the Catholic aid organization Chalice: he was a personal sponsor for eight children and secured sponsors for more than 3,200 children. His wife was Elizabeth (Erzsike), with whom he was married for fifty years. They had three children—Brigitte, Tom, and Paul—and five grandchildren. After a long battle with cancer, he passed away while praying on December 14, 2009, at the Southlake Regional Health Centre.