Elliot Griffin Thomas (15 July 1926 – 28 February 2019) was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

Catholic

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

who served as the Bishop of the Diocese of Saint Thomas.

Life

Thomas was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Pennsylvania, on July 15, 1926. His family had lived in

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

, and returned there in 1934. Thomas was enrolled in the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Day School in

Road Town Road Town, located on Tortola, is the capital of the British Virgin Islands. It is situated on the horseshoe-shaped Road Harbour in the centre of the island's south coast. The population was about 15,000 in 2018. The name is derived from the na ...

and as a teenager attended

Charlotte Amalie High School Charlotte Amalie High School (CAHS) is a public high school housing a population of just over 1400 students, and over 130 members of faculty and staff. It is located in what is colloquially called the "town area" of the island of St. Thomas, Uni ...

, St. Thomas, where he graduated in 1945. Following his graduation, Thomas served as a Clerk of the Municipal Homestead Commission and Clerk of the Adult Evening School in St. Thomas. In 1945, he enrolled in the College of Pharmacy at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1950. After qualifying as a registered pharmacist in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, Michigan, he joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and was assigned to FranMort-Hoechst and to

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. After returning to the Virgin Islands, he became a pharmacist in St. Thomas. From 1954 to 1959, Thomas worked as a pharmacist with the

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and ...

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

, where he also studied part-time at

Gannon College Gannon University is a private Catholic university in Erie, Pennsylvania. Gannon University has approximately 4,500 students and 46,000 alumni. Its intercollegiate athletics include 18 athletic programs for men and women competing at the NCAA D ...

, majoring in Business Administration. On October 2, 1957, Thomas converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and was received into the Catholic Church at St. Peter's Cathedral in Erie, Pennsylvania. He began his studies for the priesthood in 1982 at

St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary located in Boynton Beach, Florida for the education and formation of seminarians to the Roman Catholic priesthood. St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary was established to form m ...

Boynton Beach, Florida Boynton Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is situated about 57 miles north of Miami. The population was 68,217 at the 2010 census. In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 78,679 according to the University o ...

. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands on June 6, 1986, and was appointed Episcopal

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

for the diocese and Pastor of Holy Family Church. Thomas served as pastor of St. Ann's Church on

St. Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincor ...

, pastor of Holy Family Church, Dean of the Diocese and the Vicar General. The Diocesan Consulters of the Diocese of St. Thomas unanimously elected Thomas to serve as Diocesan Administrator, a post he filled from August 11, 1992, until he was named as the Third Bishop of the Virgin Islands on October 30, 1993. He was consecrated and installed at the

Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Saint Thomas Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States Virgin Islands. It is the mother church and seat of the Diocese of Saint Thomas. It is located in the City of Charlotte Amalie. History King Chri ...

on December 12, 1993. Thomas resigned in June 1999.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Thomas Official Site

National Black Catholic Congress profile of Elliot Griffin Thomas

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Elliot 1926 births 2019 deaths Military personnel from Pittsburgh Religious leaders from Pittsburgh Howard University alumni Gannon University alumni American pharmacists Converts to Roman Catholicism from Protestantism 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States African-American Roman Catholic bishops Roman Catholic bishops of Saint Thomas 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people American Roman Catholic bishops by contiguous area of the United States

Life

See also

References

External links

Episcopal succession