Thomas Michael O'Leary
The Most Reverend Thomas Michael O'Leary | |
---|---|
Bishop of Springfield | |
See | Diocese of Springfield |
In office | September 8, 1921 to October 10, 1949 |
Predecessor | Thomas Daniel Beaven |
Successor | Christopher Joseph Weldon |
Orders | |
Ordination | December 18, 1897 by Maxime Decelles |
Consecration | September 8, 1921 by Arthur Alfred Sinnott |
Personal details | |
Born | |
Died | October 10, 1949 | (aged 74)
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Education | Mungret College Grand Séminaire de Montréal |
Thomas Michael O'Leary (August 16, 1875 – October 10, 1949) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts from 1921 to 1949.
Biography
Early life
The third of seven children, O'Leary was born in Dover, New Hampshire, to Michael and Margaret (née Howland) O'Leary.[1] He attended elementary school and high school in Dover, graduating in 1887. He then entered Mungret College in Limerick, Ireland, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1892. O'Leary then went to Canada to study philosophy and theology at the Grand Seminary of Montreal in Montreal, Quebec.[2][3]
Priesthood
O'Leary was ordained to the priesthood in Montreal for the Diocese of Manchester by Bishop Maxime Decelles on December 18, 1897.[4] After his ordination, O'Leary spent six months as assistant pastor at St. Ann's Parish in Manchester, New Hampshire from 1898 to 1899. He was then sent to St. John's Parish in Concord, New Hampshire to serve as assistant pastor from 1899 to 1904. He then spent three more years at St. John's as parish administrator. O'Leary was named chancellor in 1904 and vicar general in 1914 of the diocese.[1] [5] He also served as chaplain to the Sisters of the Sacred Blood congregation and editor of the diocese newspaper Guidon. [3] According to author Kevin Donovan, O'Leary was considered to be rigid, unapproachable and distant by his fellow clergy, and they were not sorry to see him go to Springfield. [6]
Bishop of Springfield
On June 16, 1921, O'Leary was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Springfield by Pope Benedict XV.[4] He received his episcopal consecration on , from Archbishop Arthur Alfred Sinnott, with Bishops Michael Curley and George Guertin serving as co-consecrators.[4] During his tenure, O' Leary introduced the Passionists and Sisters of Providence, expanded Mercy Hospital in Springfield and opened 24 new parishes.
In 1928, O'Leary spearheaded the founding of Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts, the first Catholic college for women in Western Massachusetts. O'Leary served as its first president until his death in 1949. He described the college's educational aims:... to speak convincingly, write gracefully, spend leisure time profitably, and assume responsibility easily."[7][2]In 1943, during World War II, O'Leary authorized the collection of clothing at parishes to be sent to war victims in the Soviet Union as part of the Russian War Relief effort. He was one of only four Catholic bishops in the United States to participate in this drive.[8]
Thomas O'Leary died on October 10, 1949, at age 74. O'Leary Hall, a student residence at Elms College, is named after him.
References
- ^ a b Stearns, Ezra S. (1908). Genealogical and Family History of the State of New Hampshire. The Lewis Publishing Company.
{{cite encyclopedia}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ a b "Past Presidents". Elms College. Archived from the original on 2009-09-16.
- ^ a b Whitcher, William Frederick; Parker, Edward Everett (1908). Genealogical and Family History of the State of New Hampshire: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. Higginson Book Company.
- ^ a b c "Bishop Thomas Michael O'Leary". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
- ^ Curtis, Georgina Pell; Elder, Benedict (1910). The American Catholic Who's who. NC News Service.
- ^ Paradis, Wilfrid H. (1998). Upon This Granite: Catholicism in New Hampshire, 1647-1997. Kevin Donovan. ISBN 978-0-914339-76-2.
- ^ Congress, United States (1967). Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. U.S. Government Printing Office.
- ^ "Religion: Bishop's Friendly Gesture". TIME Magazine. 1943-06-28. Archived from the original on December 14, 2008.
- CS1 errors: missing title
- Articles without Wikidata item
- Pages using S-rel template with ca parameter
- AC with 0 elements
- 1875 births
- 1949 deaths
- People from Dover, New Hampshire
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester
- 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States
- Religious leaders from New Hampshire
- Roman Catholic bishops of Springfield in Massachusetts
- Elms College faculty
- Catholics from New Hampshire