Thomas Grace (bishop of Saint Paul) explained

Type:Bishop
Honorific Prefix:The Right Reverend
Thomas Langdon Grace
Honorific Suffix:O.P.
Archbishop of Siuna
Church:Roman Catholic Church
Archdiocese:Siuna
Ordination:21 December 1839
Ordained By:Constantino Patrizi Naro
Consecration:24 July 1859
Consecrated By:Peter Richard Kenrick
Signature:Signature of Thomas Grace (bishop of Saint Paul).png
Buried:Calvary Cemetery, St. Paul

Thomas Langdon Grace (November 14, 1814 – February 22, 1897) was an American prelate who served as the second Roman Catholic Bishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Life

Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Grace entered the seminary at Cincinnati in 1829, and, the following year, was admitted to the Dominican Order at the Priory of St. Rose in Kentucky, where he made his religious profession on 12 June 1831. In 1837 he went to Rome for further studies, where he was ordained a priest by Cardinal Patrizi on 21 December 1839. He was the first native of South Carolina to be ordained to the priesthood.[1] After his return to the United States in 1844 he ministered first in Kentucky, and afterwards for 13 years in Memphis, Tennessee.

Pope Pius IX appointed Grace to succeed Joseph Crétin as the Bishop of the Diocese of Saint Paul in Minnesota on January 21, 1859, for which he was consecrated on July 24, 1859. He was installed as bishop on July 29, 1859 after a year and a half long period of sede vacante in that see. A capable administrator, he served to organize the diocese, which encompassed all of Minnesota and most of the Dakotas. He focused on education and service both to the Native Americans of the region as well as to the newly-arriving immigrants.[2]

In 1876 he welcomed Mother Mary Alfred Moes who founded the Sisters of the Congregation of Our Lady of Lourdes of the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis who established Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester which later became Mayo Clinic Hospital.[3]

Grace resigned on July 31, 1884, succeeded by John Ireland. Shortly after that, he was named the titular bishop of Mennith. On September 24, 1889, in recognition of his service as bishop, he was appointed to the titular see of Siuna, with the personal title of archbishop.

Upon his death in Merriam Park on February 22, 1897, Grace was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Saint Paul.[4] [5]

Legacy

Totino-Grace High School, a Roman Catholic high school in Fridley, Minnesota, bears his name.

The city of Graceville, Minnesota was named in his honor.

Notes and References

  1. https://thecatholicspirit.com/faith/focus-on-faith/practicing-catholic/archivists-intriguing-fact-second-st-paul-bishop-first-declined-the-position/ Spies, Alison. "Second St. Paul bishop first declined the position", The Catholic Spirit, Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis, May 14, 2021
  2. https://www.archspm.org/leadership/past-bishops/most-reverend-thomas-l-grace-o-p/ "Most Reverend Thomas L Grace, O.P.", Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis
  3. https://religionsmn.carleton.edu/exhibits/show/assisi-heights/history/franciscan-sisters-of-our-lady "Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Lourdes", ReligionMN, Carleton College
  4. http://www.archspm.org/bishops/past-bishops-detail.php?intResourceID=1667 Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis, Our Bishops: Most Reverend John Ireland
  5. Book: The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography . IX . James T. White & Company . 225–226 . 1907 . 2020-11-20 . Google Books.