Thomas Heslin (April 17, 1847 – February 22, 1911) was an Irish-born

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who served as bishop of the

Diocese of Natchez In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

in Mississippi from 1889 until his death in 1911.

Biography

Early life

One of seven children, Thomas Heslin was born on April 17, 1847, in

Killoe Killoe () is a rural community and parish in County Longford, Ireland, located approximately 6 miles north of Longford Town. It is home to Cairn Hill (locally called Corn Hill) or Carn Clonhugh - the highest peak in County Longford. It is bord ...

County Longford County Longford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the Local government in the Republic ...

, to Patrick and Catherine (née Hughes) Heslin. Upon the completion of his classical studies in Granard, Ireland, he came to the United States at the invitation of Archbishop

Jean-Marie Odin Jean-Marie Odin, C.M. ( English: John Mary; February 25, 1800 – May 25, 1870) was a French-born prelate of the Catholic Church and a member of the Congregation of the Mission. He served as the second Archbishop of New Orleans from 1861 t ...

in 1863. Heslin then studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

under the

Lazarists The Congregation of the Mission (), abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated with the Vincentian Family, ...

at diocesan seminary of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. Too young to receive

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

, he taught at Jefferson College for several years.

Priesthood

Heslin was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of St. Louis by Bishop John Quinlan on September 8, 1869. He then served as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

at the Cathedral of St. Louis for a month, when he was transferred to St. Vincent de Paul Church and later to St. Patrick's Church. From 1874 to 1889, he was

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of St. Michael's Church in

Bishop of Natchez

On March 29, 1889, Heslin was appointed the fifth Bishop of the Diocese of Natchez by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

. He received his

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

on June 18, 1889, from Archbishop

Francis Janssens Francis August Anthony Joseph Janssens (October 17, 1843 – June 9, 1897) was a Dutch-born American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of New Orleans from 1888 to 1897. He previously served as Bishop of Natchez from 1881 to 1888. Bi ...

, with Bishops Edward Fitzgerald and Anthony Durier serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

. Thomas Heslin died in

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the only city in and the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,520 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia, Louisiana, Natchez was ...

, on February 22, 1911, at age 65.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heslin, Thomas 1847 births 1911 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Irish emigrants to the United States Irish expatriate Roman Catholic bishops Jefferson College (Mississippi) faculty People from County Longford Roman Catholic bishops of Jackson Roman Catholic bishops in Mississippi 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States