Thomas Francis Hendricken

Thomas Francis Hendricken
Born	(1827-05-05)May 5, 1827
Died	June 11, 1886(1886-06-11) (aged 59)

Bishop Thomas Francis Hendricken (May 5, 1827 in Kilkenny, Ireland – June 11, 1886) served as the first bishop of Providence, Rhode Island, USA.

Biography

Hendricken studied in St. Kiernan's College and Maynooth where he met Bishop Bernard O'Reilly who ordained him for Hartford in 1853.

In 1872 he was appointed the first Bishop of Providence, Rhode Island, USA. At that time, the diocese included all of Rhode Island, as well as the present Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts with some 125,000 parishioners, 43 churches, 9 parish schools and 1 orphan asylum.

He created 13 English- and two French-speaking parishes for growing congregations composed mainly of French-Canadians and Irish. By 1873, the immigration into the diocese slowed and the post-war boom ended with many of his flock unemployed or on reduced wages. As with many of his fellow prelates, he urged a response of patience and social conservatism.

He was primarily responsible for the construction of the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, Providence, although he died before its completion. His funeral was the first Mass to be celebrated in the cathedral, and he was entombed in a crypt beneath the high altar. During renovations in 2006, the basement crypt was removed, and the bishops buried there were re-interred in a mausoleum at a nearby diocesan cemetery. Bishop Hendricken, however, was re-entombed on December 8, 2006, in a sarcophagus located on the cathedral's main floor, in the West Transept. Eight seniors from the high school that bears his name carried his remains to a more public resting place facing the high altar of the great cathedral he built.

Bishop Thomas Francis Hendricken High School in Warwick, Rhode Island is named after him.^[1]

References

External links

• Official site of the Holy See

Episcopal succession

Diocese of Providence
Bishops	Ordinaries Thomas Francis Hendricken Matthew Harkins William A. Hickey Francis Patrick Keough Russell McVinney Louis Edward Gelineau Robert Edward Mulvee Thomas Joseph Tobin Auxiliaries Thomas Francis Doran Denis Matthew Lowney Thomas Francis Maloney Bernard Matthew Kelly Kenneth Anthony Angell Robert Joseph McManus Robert C. Evans
Churches	Cathedral Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul Parish churches St. Joseph Church, Central Falls St. Matthew's Church, Central Falls Our Lady of Czestochowa Church, Coventry St. Paul Church, Cranston St. Mary's Church, Crompton St. Joseph's Church, Cumberland St. Mary's Church, Newport St. John the Baptist Church, Pawtucket St. Mary's Church of the Immaculate Conception, Pawtucket Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Providence St. Adalbert's Church, Providence St. Joseph's Church, Providence St. Michael's Church, Providence St. Casimir Church, Warren Church of the Precious Blood, Woonsocket St. Ann's Church, Woonsocket St. Charles Borromeo Church, Woonsocket St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, Woonsocket Former parish churches Holy Trinity Church, Central Falls Trinity Church, Pawtucket Immaculate Conception Church, Westerly
Education	Higher Education Providence College Salve Regina University High Schools Bishop Hendricken High School, Warwick Bishop Keough Regional High School, Pawtucket La Salle Academy, Providence Mount Saint Charles Academy, Woonsocket Portsmouth Abbey School, Portsmouth Prout School, Wakefield St. Mary Academy – Bay View, East Providence St. Raphael Academy, Pawtucket Former High School Our Lady of Fatima High School, Warren
Hospitals	Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, Providence St. Joseph's Hospital, Providence
Priests	Austin Dowling Salvatore Ronald Matano Daniel Patrick Reilly Francis Xavier Roque William Stang
Catholicism portal