Francis Augustine Thill
Francis Augustine Thill was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Concordia in Kansas, later becoming the Diocese of Salina, from 1938 until his death in 1957.
Biography
Early life
Francis Thill was born on October 12, 1893, in Dayton, Ohio, to Bernard and Margaret Thill. After attending the University of Dayton, he entered Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1914. As a seminarian, he established and organized the Catholic Students' Mission Crusade to aid missionaries in foreign countries.Priesthood
Thill was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati by Archbishop Henry K. Moeller on February 28, 1920. He then furthered his studies at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, and toured American missionary outposts in Asia. Upon his return to Ohio, Thill served as professor of oratory at Mount St. Mary's. He was appointed chancellor of the archdiocese in 1935. The Vatican in 1937 elevated Thill to the rank of domestic prelate.Bishop of Concordia
On August 26, 1938, Thill was appointed the fourth bishop of Concordia by Pope Pius XI. He received his episcopal consecration on October 28, 1938, from Archbishop John T. McNicholas, with Archbishops Francis Beckman and Urban Vehr serving as co-consecrators, at St. Monica's Cathedral in Cincinnati. Thill was installed by Archbishop John J. Glennon in Concordia, Kansas, on November 15, 1938. Despite the lingering effects of the 1930s Great Depression, Thill managed to liquidate the diocesan debt of nearly $250,000 in late 1942.Bishop of Salina
On December 23, 1944, Pope Pius XII moved the episcopal see from Concordia to Salina, Kansas, much to the chagrin of local Catholics.Thill now became the first bishop of Salina.During his tenure, Thill laid the cornerstone for Sacred Heart Cathedral in Salina on June 4, 1951, and later dedicated it on June 6, 1953. He erected or remodeled 25 churches, ten schools, 11 rectories, nine convents, and six chapels. Thill ordained 35 priests and founded the Catholic Youth Organization of Concordia in 1939.