John Henry Tihen (July 14, 1861 – January 14, 1940) 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 'pre ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church 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 ...

. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Lincoln in Nebraska (1911–1917) and as bishop of the Diocese of Denver in Colorado (1917–1931).

Biography

Early life

John Tihen was born in

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, to Herman Bernard and Angela (née Bruns) Tihen, both

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

immigrants. When he was still a child, he and his family moved to

Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the principa ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, where he attended parochial schools. After graduating from St. Benedict College in Atchison, Kansas, he entered St. Francis Seminary at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1882.

Priesthood

Tihen was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

to the priesthood by Archbishop

Michael Heiss Michael Heiss (April 12, 1818 – March 26, 1890) was a German-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the first bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse in Wisconsin (1868–1880) and the second archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwa ...

on April 26, 1886. Returning to Missouri, he then served as a curate at St. John's Parish in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. In 1888, he followed Bishop John Hennessy to the Diocese of Wichita. Tihen there served as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

and chancellor of the diocese. In 1907, Tihen was named

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...

and a domestic prelate.

Bishop of Lincoln

On May 12, 1911, Tihen was appointed the second bishop of the Diocese of Lincoln by Pope Pius X. He received his episcopal consecration on July 6, 1911, from Bishop Hennessy, with Bishops Nicholas Matz and

Richard Scannell Richard Scannell (May 12, 1845 – January 8, 1916) was an Ireland, Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salina, Diocese of Concordia in Kansas (1887–1891) and as bishop of the Ro ...

serving as co-consecrators.

Bishop of Denver

Following the death of Bishop Matz, Tihen was named the third bishop of the Diocese of Denver by

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

on September 21, 1917. He was installed on December 21, 1917. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Tihen supported

Liberty bond A liberty bond (or liberty loan) was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the Allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of financi ...

s and the

National Catholic War Council The National Catholic Welfare Council (NCWC) was the annual meeting of the American Catholic hierarchy and its standing secretariat; it was established in 1919 as the successor to the emergency organization, the National Catholic War Council. It co ...

, and organized students at Catholic schools as the U.S. Boys Working Reserve and the Children's Red Cross Campaign. In recognition of his support for the war effort, he was appointed by Mayor W. F. R. Mills as a delegate to the Mid-Continent Congress of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

in February 1919. Tihen was forced to defend the church in Colorado from the powerful Ku Klux Klan, which he condemned as "an anti-Catholic and un-American society." He also supported

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

and the labor movement, and founded ''The Denver Catholic Register'' in 1905. During his tenure, Tihen organized the diocesan

Catholic Charities The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations. Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spi ...

; increased the number of parochial schools from 31 to 49, and the number of priests from 174 to 229; dedicated 41 churches; and established Loretto Heights College, three hospitals, an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or ab ...

, and a home for the aged.

Retirement and legacy

On January 6, 1931, Pope Pius XI accepted Tihen's resignation as bishop of Denver and appointed him

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 ...

of Bosana. In September 1931, he left Denver to take up residence at St. Francis Hospital in Wichita. Kansas. He became an invalid in March 1938, when he suffered a

paralytic stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop function ...

. Tihen died on January 14, 1940, at age 78, and was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in

Wheat Ridge, Colorado The City of Wheat Ridge is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Wheat Ridge is located immediately west of Denver and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tihen, John Henry 1861 births 1940 deaths People from Franklin County, Indiana Benedictine College alumni St. Francis Seminary (Wisconsin) alumni Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita Roman Catholic bishops of Lincoln Roman Catholic bishops of Denver 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis Catholics from Indiana American people of German descent