Henry Hanlon Explained

Type:Archbishop
Honorific-Prefix:The Most Reverend
Henry Hanlon
Vicar Apostolic of Upper Nile District
Diocese:Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tororo
Appointed:1894
Other Post:Titular Archbishop of Teos
Ordination:21 September 1889
Consecration:17 July 1894
Birth Name:Henry Hanlon
Birth Date:13 January 1862
Birth Place:Manchester, Lancashire, England
Death Place:Formby, Lancashire, England
Nationality:British
Religion:Roman Catholic
Parents:Henry and Sarah Hanlon

Archbishop Dr Henry Hanlon MHM (13 January 1862 – 18 August 1937), was an English Roman Catholic bishop, belonging to the order of the Mill Hill Missionaries.[1]

Background and education

Hanlon was born on 13 January 1862 in Manchester, the son of Henry Hanlon, a warehouse packer, and his wife Sarah. He was educated at St Augustine's Roman Catholic School, Manchester. Prior to joining the priesthood he trained as a cabinet maker. Having decided to train as a priest, he attended the Missionary School at Kelvedon, Essex, then St Joseph's College, Mill Hill. He was ordained Priest on 21 September 1889 for the Mill Hill Missionaries.[1]

Apostolic mission

Hanlon travelled to Northern India, where he served until 1894 when he was recalled to Rome to be appointed the first Vicar Apostolic of Upper Nile District of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tororo. He was appointed Archbishop on 17 July 1894 and was consecrated (ordained) on 25 November 1894, in Rome, taking the title of Titular Archbishop of Teos.[1]

He was then sent to lead the first band of four Mill Hill missionaries into the African interior, where they arrived in Kampala on 26 September 1895, having walked from Mombasa.[2]

Upon arrival Bishop Hanlon and his missionaries were received by Kabaka Mwanga II, who offered them land on Nsambya Hill where they established their mission station. As of June 2018, the site is occupied by St Peter's Catholic Church, Nsambya.[3] Hanlon founded new parishes at Budaka and Masaba in 1901 and at Nyondo in 1906. In 1903 he brought a congregation of the Fransciscan Sisters of St Joseph from Manchester to Kampala where they established a school, St. Peter's School Nsambya, and a hospital, St. Francis Hospital Nsambya, for the local district.[4] He continued in that position until 17 November 1911 when he resigned, becoming the Vicar Apostolic Emeritus.[1]

Bishop Hanlon is credited with he establishment of Namilyango College, an all-boys, residential, Catholic boarding school, founded in March 1902, at Namilyango, approximately 20km (10miles), east of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. One of the dormitories at the college, is named after him.[5]

In retirement

Bishop Hanlon returned to England and began Parish work in his native Diocese of Salford. In 1915 he became Missionary Rector at the Church of St Alban, Blackburn where he would remain until ill health forced his retirement in 1934.[6] Along with Auxiliary Bishop John Vaughan, Bishop Hanlon took on many episcopal duties with the diocese to assist Bishop Louis Casartelli, who suffered from ill health through much of his episcopate. Bishop Henry Hanlon died in 1937 at the age of 75.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 30 Apr 2018 . Bishop Henry Hanlon, M.H.M. †: Vicar Apostolic Emeritus of Upper Nile (Nilo Superiore), Uganda . 24 June 2018 . . David M. Cheney . Kansas City, Missouri.
  2. Web site: 24 June 2018 . Mill Hill Missionaries: Our Founder . Archived from the Original . . Mill Hill Missionary Society . Maidenhead, England . 6 October 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20110518215837/http://www.millhillmissionaries.com/our%20founder.html . 18 May 2011 .
  3. Web site: 1962 . Religious Sites in Uganda: The Contributions of Religious Bodies . . 24 June 2018 . Makerere University.
  4. Web site: Uganda: UEC Gets a New Administration Block . 24 June 2018 . 13 June 2013 . Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) . AMECEA. Nairobi.
  5. Web site: 25 June 2018 . Namilyango College celebrates 115 years of great service . . Kavuma-Kaggwa . 9 June 2017 . Kampala.
  6. Web site: 24 June 2018 . 1 February 2018 . Genuki Organisation UK. About St Alban Roman Catholic, Blackburn, Lancashire . Genuki United Kingdom.