Thomas Langdon Grace (November 14, 1814 – February 22, 1897) was an American

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 second

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Bishop of

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

Life

Born in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, Grace entered the seminary at Cincinnati in 1829, and, the following year, was admitted to the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

at the Priory of St. Rose in Kentucky, where he made his

religious profession In the Catholic Church, a religious profession is the solemn admission of men or women into consecrated life by means of the pronouncement of religious vows, typically the evangelical counsels. Usage The 1983 Code of Canon Law defines the te ...

on 12 June 1831. In 1837 he went to Rome for further studies, where he was ordained a priest by

Cardinal Patrizi Costantino Patrizi Naro JUD (4 September 1798 – 17 December 1876) was a long-serving Italian Cardinal who became Dean of the College of Cardinals. Cardinal Benedetto Naro was his great-uncle. Biography Born in Siena, Naro was educated in the ...

on 21 December 1839. He was the first native of South Carolina to be ordained to the priesthood. After his return to the United States in 1844 he ministered first in Kentucky, and afterwards for 13 years in Memphis, Tennessee.

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

appointed Grace to succeed

Joseph Crétin Joseph Crétin (19 December 1799 – 22 February 1857) was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Cretin Avenue in St. Paul, Cretin-Derham Hall High School, and Cretin Hall at the University of St. Thomas are named for him. ...

as the

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 ...

of the Diocese of Saint Paul in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

on January 21, 1859, for which he was consecrated on July 24, 1859. He was installed as bishop on July 29, 1859 after a year and a half long period of

sede vacante ''Sede vacante'' ( in Latin.) is a term for the state of a diocese while without a bishop. In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the term is used to refer to the vacancy of the bishop's or Pope's authority upon his death or resignation. Hi ...

in that see. A capable administrator, he served to organize the diocese, which encompassed all of Minnesota and most of the Dakotas. He focused on education and service both to the Native Americans of the region as well as to the newly-arriving immigrants. In 1876 he welcomed Mother Mary Alfred Moes who founded the Sisters of the Congregation of Our Lady of Lourdes of the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis who established Saint Marys Hospital in

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

which later became Mayo Clinic Hospital. Grace resigned on July 31, 1884, succeeded by

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in ''All the King's Men'' (1949), making him the first Vancouver-born actor to receive an Oscar nomin ...

. Shortly after that, he was named the

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Mennith. On September 24, 1889, in recognition of his service as bishop, he was appointed to the titular see of

Siuna Siuna is a county-sized administrative municipality in Nicaragua, located approximately northeast of the capital city of Managua and west of the coastal city and regional capital Puerto Cabezas in the North Caribbean Autonomous Region (RAC ...

, with the personal title of

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

. Upon his death in Merriam Park on February 22, 1897, Grace was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Saint Paul.

Legacy

Totino-Grace High School Totino-Grace High School is a private Catholic high school in Fridley, Minnesota. It is an archdiocesan co-educational Catholic high school in the Lasallian tradition. History Founding In the late 1950s, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and ...

, a Roman Catholic high school in

Fridley, Minnesota Fridley is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 29,590 at the 2020 census. Fridley was incorporated in 1949 as a village, and became a city in 1957. It is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area as ...

, bears his name. The city of

Graceville, Minnesota Graceville is a city in Big Stone County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 529 at the 2020 census. History Graceville was founded in the 1870s by a colony of Catholics and named for Thomas Langdon Grace, second Roman Catholic Bisho ...

was named in his honor.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grace, Thomas 1814 births 1897 deaths Clergy from Charleston, South Carolina American Dominicans Dominican bishops Roman Catholic bishops of Saint Paul 19th-century American Roman Catholic titular archbishops Burials in Minnesota Catholics from South Carolina