Tobias Mullen


Tobias Mullen
Bishop of Erie
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
SeeDiocese of Erie
In officeMarch 3, 1868 – August 10, 1899
PredecessorJoshua Maria Young
SuccessorJohn Edmund Fitzmaurice
Orders
OrdinationSeptember 1, 1844
by Michael O'Connor
ConsecrationAugust 2,1868
by Michael Domenec
Personal details
Born(1818-03-04)March 4, 1818
DiedApril 22, 1900(1900-04-22) (aged 82)
Erie, Pennsylvania, US
Alma materMaynooth College

Tobias Mullen (March 4, 1818 – April 22, 1900) was an Irish-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Erie in Pennsylvania from 1868 to until his death in 1899.

Biography

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Early life

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Tobias Mullen was born on March 4, 1818, in Urney, County Tyrone, in Ireland the youngest of the six sons of James and Mary (née Travers) Mullen.[1] He was educated at Castlefin school in Ulster and at Maynooth College in Maynooth, Ireland, where he studied theology and received minor orders.[2] In 1843, Mullen accepted an invitation from Bishop Michael O'Connor to immigrate to the United States and join the Diocese of Pittsburgh.[2]

Priesthood

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After completing his theological studies, he was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Pittsburgh by Bishop O'Connor on September 1, 1844.[3] He served for about two years as curate at the Cathedral of Pittsburgh, and was afterwards charged with the care of congregations at Johnstown and in Jefferson County.[1] He was transferred to the rectorship of St. Peter's Church at Allegheny in 1854, and served as vicar general of the Diocese of Pittsburgh from 1864 to 1868.[2]

Bishop of Erie

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On March 3, 1868, Mullen was appointed the third Bishop of Erie by Pope Pius IX.[3] He received his episcopal consecration on the following August 2 from Bishop Michael Domenec, with Bishops James Frederick Wood and Louis Amadeus Rappe serving as co-consecrators.[3]

During his 31-year-long administration many priests were ordained, parishes established, churches and schools built, and conferences for the clergy held.[4] He also founded the weekly Lake Shore Visitor, an orphanage, and two hospitals.[4] His greatest accomplishment was the erection of St. Peter's Cathedral.[5] Originally dubbed as "Mullen's Folly", its cornerstone was laid in 1875 and it was later dedicated in 1893.[5]Mullen suffered a paralytic stroke on May 20, 1897.[5] He received John Fitzmaurice as his coadjutor bishop in 1898.[4]

Tobias Mullen remained in ill health until his death at on April 22, 1900, at age 82.

References

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  1. ^ a b Shea, John Gilmary (1886). The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the United States. New York: The Office of Catholic Publications.
  2. ^ a b c Brown, John Howard, ed. (1903). Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States. Vol. V. Boston: Federal Book Company of Boston.
  3. ^ a b c "Bishop Tobias Mullen". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.[self-published source]
  4. ^ a b c "Erie". Catholic Encyclopedia.
  5. ^ a b c "1853-1900: Early History". Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008.
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of Erie
1868–1899
Succeeded by
Vacant
Title last held by
Augustin Dontenwill
— TITULAR —
Bishop of Germanicopolis
1889–1900
Vacant
Title next held by
Joseph Maria Koudelka