Thomas Anthony Welch

Thomas Anthony Welch was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of Duluth in Minnesota from 1926 until his death in 1959.

Biography

Thomas Welch was born on November 2, 1884, in Faribault, Minnesota, to Thomas J. and Ellen Welch. He studied at College of St. Thomas and Saint [Paul Seminary School of Divinity|St. Paul Seminary], both in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was ordained to the priesthood at the Cathedral of [Saint Paul (Minnesota)|Cathedral of Saint Paul] in St. Paul, Minnesota, for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis on June 11, 1909.
Welch served as secretary to Archbishop John Ireland and to his successor, Archbishop Austin Dowling. He also served as chancellor and vicar general of the archdiocese. The Vatican named Welch as a domestic prelate in February 1924.

On December 17, 1925, Welch was appointed the third bishop of Duluth by Pope Pius XI. He received his episcopal consecration at the Cathedral of Saint Paul on February 3, 1926, from Archbishop Dowling, with Bishops James O'Reilly and Joseph Busch serving as co-consecrators. During his 33-year tenure, Welch remedied the financial crisis in the diocese and also constructed the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary.in Duluth.
Thomas Welch died in Duluth on September 8, 1959, at age 74.