Thomas Grace (Bishop of Saint Paul)
Thomas Langdon Grace, O.P., was an American prelate who served as the second Roman Catholic Bishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota.Life
Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Grace entered the seminary at Cincinnati in 1829, and, the following year, was admitted to the Dominican Order at the Priory of St. Rose in Kentucky, where he made his religious profession on 12 June 1831. In 1837 he went to Rome for further studies, where he was ordained a priest by Cardinal Patrizi on 21 December 1839. 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 appointed Grace the Bishop of the Diocese of Saint Paul in Minnesota 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 in that see. A capable administrator, he served to organize the diocese, focusing on education and service both to the Native Americans of the region as well as to the newly-arriving immigrants.
Grace resigned on July 31, 1884, succeeded by John Ireland. Shortly after that, he was named the titular bishop of Mennith. On September 24, 1889, in recognition of his service as bishop, he was appointed to the titular see of Siuna, with the personal title of archbishop.
Upon his death, Grace was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Saint Paul.Legacy
, a Roman Catholic high school in Fridley, Minnesota, bears his name.
