Lawrence Stephen McMahon (December 26, 1835 – August 21, 1893) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

-born

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

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 Hartford from 1879 until his death in 1893.

Biography

Lawrence McMahon was born in St. John,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

to Owen and Sarah McMahon, and in 1839 came with his parents to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, where they settled in Charlestown, Boston,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. His younger brother John later became pastor of St. Mary's, CharlestownSt. Mary's Centennial Booklet, 1928
/ref> Receiving his early education at the public schools of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, he entered Holy Cross College in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

at age 15, and remained there until the college was destroyed by fire in 1852. He then studied rhetoric at the

Collège de Montréal The Collège de Montréal is a subsidized private high school for students attending grades 7–11 located in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A former Roman Catholic minor seminary, it was founded on June 1, 1767 as the ''Petit Séminaire' ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, and philosophy at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Bishop

John Bernard Fitzpatrick John Bernard Fitzpatrick (November 1, 1812 – February 13, 1866) was an American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Boston from 1846 until his death in 1866. Early life and education Fitzpatrick was born in Boston, Ma ...

of Boston had arranged for McMahon to study at the

Pontificio Collegio Urbano de Propaganda Fide The Pontificio Collegio Urbano de Propaganda Fide () was established in 1627 for the purpose of training missionaries to spread Catholicism around the world (the Latin term "''de propaganda fide''" means “for the propagation of the faith”). ...

, but given the political unrest in Italy at that time, McMahon changed plans and went to the

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

of Aix in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

where he studied theology for three years. He then went to the French Seminary of Santa Clara in Rome while attending lectures at the Apollinaire,. He 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 on March 24, 1860. McMahon was first assigned as a curate at Holy Cross Cathedral in Boston, and served as chaplain to the 28th Massachusetts regiment during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

from 1863 to 1865. Returning from the war, he served as

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

in Bridgewater and then in New Bedford, where he erecte
St. Lawrence's Church
and a hospital under the care of the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...

. He was also named the first

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' ...

of the Diocese of Providence,

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

, in 1872. On May 16, 1879, McMahon was appointed the fifth Bishop of Hartford,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration 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 ...

on August 10 from Archbishop

John Joseph Williams John Joseph Williams was an American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the fourth Bishop and first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Boston, serving between 1866 and his death in 1907. Early life and education Williams was born in Bosto ...

, with Bishops John Loughlin and

Patrick Thomas O'Reilly Patrick Thomas O'Reilly (December 24, 1833 – May 28, 1892) was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts from 1870 to 1892. Biography Early life P ...

serving as co-consecrators, at

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

. He soon liquidated the diocese's $60,000 debt, and continued to execute the building plans of his predecessors for the Cathedral of St. Joseph, which he dedicated in May 1892. His brother would use the same architect,

Patrick Keely Patrick Charles Keely (August 9, 1816 — August 11, 1896) was an Irish-American architect based in Brooklyn, New York, and Providence, Rhode Island. He was a prolific designer of nearly 600 churches and hundreds of other institutional buildin ...

, and sculptor Joseph Sibbel in the construction of his church in Charlestown. During his 14-year tenure, he established 48 parishes and 16 parochial schools. McMahon later died at Lakeville, aged 57. He is buried in the Bishop's Plot at Mount St. Benedict Cemetery in Bloomfield, Connecticut.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford

photo of Bishop McMahon
{{DEFAULTSORT:McMahon, Lawrence Stephen 1835 births 1893 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Hartford Pre-Confederation Canadian emigrants to the United States Catholic Church in Connecticut College of the Holy Cross alumni Clergy from Boston Union Army chaplains Pre-Confederation New Brunswick people Burials in Connecticut Religious leaders from Connecticut