Archbishop Dr Henry Hanlon MHM (13 January 1862 – 18 August 1937), was an

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bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, belonging to the order of the

Mill Hill Missionaries The Mill Hill Missionaries (MHM), officially known as the Saint Joseph's Missionary Society of Mill Hill ( la, Societas Missionariorum S. Ioseph de Mill Hill), is a Catholic society of apostolic life founded in 1866 by Herbert Alfred Vaughan, MH ...

Background and education

Hanlon was born on 13 January 1862 in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, the son of Henry Hanlon, a warehouse packer, and his wife Sarah. He was educated at St Augustine's Roman Catholic School, Manchester. Prior to joining the priesthood he trained as a cabinet maker. Having decided to train as a priest, he attended the Missionary School at

Kelvedon Kelvedon is a village and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex in England, between Chelmsford and Colchester. It had a population of 4,717 in 2001, reducing to 3,587 at the 2011 Census. It is now home to several businesses including ...

, Essex, then St Joseph's College, Mill Hill. He was ordained Priest on 21 September 1889 for the

Apostolic mission

Hanlon travelled to Northern India, where he served until 1894 when he was recalled to Rome to be appointed the first Vicar Apostolic of Upper Nile District of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tororo The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tororo ( la, Tororoën(sis)) is the Metropolitan See for the Ecclesiastical province of Tororo in Uganda. On January 2, 2014, it was announced that the Bishop of Soroti, Uganda, Emmanuel Obbo, had been named b ...

. He was appointed Archbishop on 17 July 1894 and was consecrated (ordained) on 25 November 1894, in Rome, taking the title of Titular Archbishop of Teos. He was then sent to lead the first band of four Mill Hill missionaries into the African interior, where they arrived in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

on 26 September 1895, having walked from

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

. Upon arrival Bishop Hanlon and his missionaries were received by Kabaka Mwanga II, who offered them land on Nsambya Hill where they established their mission station. As of June 2018, the site is occupied by St Peter's Catholic Church, Nsambya. Hanlon founded new parishes at Budaka and Masaba in 1901 and at Nyondo in 1906. In 1903 he brought a congregation of the Fransciscan Sisters of St Joseph from Manchester to Kampala where they established a school, St. Peter's School Nsambya, and a hospital, St. Francis Hospital Nsambya, for the local district. He continued in that position until 17 November 1911 when he resigned, becoming the Vicar Apostolic Emeritus. Bishop Hanlon is credited with he establishment of

Namilyango College Namilyango College is a boys-only boarding middle and high school located in Mukono District in the Central Region of Uganda, whose history and excellence in sports and academics have made it one of the most prestigious schools in Uganda. It is ...

, an all-boys, residential, Catholic boarding school, founded in March 1902, at

Namilyango Namilyango is a hill in Mukono District in south-central Uganda. The hill rises above sea level. The name "Namilyango" is also applied to the village that occupies the hill and the schools and churches that are located there. Location Namilyango ...

, approximately , east of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. One of the dormitories at the college, is named after him.

In retirement

Bishop Hanlon returned to England and began Parish work in his native

Diocese of Salford The Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford is centred on the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. The diocese was founded in 1852 as one of the first post-Reformation Catholic dioceses in Great Britain. Since 1911 it has formed part of th ...

. In 1915 he became Missionary Rector at the Church of St Alban,

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

where he would remain until ill health forced his retirement in 1934. Along with Auxiliary Bishop John Vaughan, Bishop Hanlon took on many episcopal duties with the diocese to assist Bishop Louis Casartelli, who suffered from ill health through much of his episcopate. Bishop Henry Hanlon died in 1937 at the age of 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanlon, Henry 1862 births 1937 deaths English Roman Catholic priests 20th-century Roman Catholic titular archbishops 19th-century Roman Catholic titular archbishops 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Uganda 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Uganda Roman Catholic bishops of Tororo