SEBIAN, MONSIGNOR THOMAS B. (22 July 1921-11 Oct. 1986), a pioneer in ministry to Cleveland's HISPANIC COMMUNITY, founded and directed the Spanish Catholic Mission Center of the Diocese of Cleveland (see CATHOLICS, ROMAN) at the Conversion of St. Paul Parish (1953) and later directed the revived Spanish Catholic Mission Office (1970-73) at St. Stephen's. He also began the Ecos Latinos program on RADIO (1957-64) and was superior of the Cleveland Latin American Mission in San Salvador, Central America (1964-70). Sebian was born in Painesville, OH, to Joseph and Elizabeth Pecery Sebian and graduated from CATHEDRAL LATIN SCHOOL (1939) and ST. MARY SEMINARY (1946). He was ordained on 18 May 1946. Sebian began learning Spanish while assigned to the Conversion of St. Paul Parish in 1952. In 1958 he was named assistant pastor at ST. JOHN CATHEDRAL, and 3 years later, to the same position at St. Augustine Church. Pope Paul IV named him Monsignor in 1968.
From 1973-78 Sebian served as pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Wooster, OH. After recovering from a heart attack, he worked as pro tem administrator at St. Victor Catholic Church (Richfield, OH), and senior associate at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in BROOKLYN. Monsignor Sebian was appointed senior associate pastor at Cleveland's St. Francis Catholic Church in charge of Spanish ministry in 1983 but retired the next year. Despite poor health, he received a master's degree from JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY in 1984.