Lawrence Stephen McMahon
Canadian-born prelate
Lawrence Stephen McMahon (December 26, 1835 – August 21, 1893) was a Canadian-born prelate of the Catholic Church . He served as Bishop of Hartford from 1879 until his death in 1893.
Biography
Lawrence McMahon was born in Saint John, New Brunswick to Owen and Sarah McMahon, and in 1839 came with his parents to the United States , where they settled in Charlestown, Boston , Massachusetts. His younger brother John later became pastor of St. Mary's, Charlestown [ 1] Receiving his early education at the public schools of Boston , he entered the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester at age 15, and remained there until the college was destroyed by fire in 1852.[ 2] He then studied rhetoric at the Collège de Montréal , Quebec, and philosophy at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland.[ 3]
Bishop John Bernard Fitzpatrick of Boston had arranged for McMahon to study at the Pontificio Collegio Urbano de Propaganda Fide , but given the political unrest in Italy at that time, McMahon changed plans and went to the College of Aix in France 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 to the priesthood on March 24, 1860.[ 4]
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 from 1863 to 1865.[ 2] Returning from the war, he served as pastor in Bridgewater and then in New Bedford , where he erected St. Lawrence's Church and a hospital under the care of the Sisters of Mercy .[ 3] He was also named the first vicar general of the Diocese of Providence , Rhode Island, in 1872.[ 3]
On May 16, 1879, McMahon was appointed the fifth Bishop of Hartford , Connecticut, by Pope Leo XIII .[ 4] He received his episcopal consecration on August 10 from Archbishop John Joseph Williams , with Bishops John Loughlin and Patrick Thomas O'Reilly serving as co-consecrators , at Hartford .[ 4] 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.[ 5] His brother would use the same architect, Patrick Keely , 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 .[ 6]
McMahon later died at Lakeville ,[ 2] aged 57. He is buried in the Bishop's Plot at Mount St. Benedict Cemetery in Bloomfield, Connecticut.
References
External links
Ordinaries Auxiliary bishops Churches
Cathedral
Cathedral of St. Joseph, Hartford
Basilica
Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Waterbury
Parishes
St. Joseph Church, Ansonia
St. Stanislaus Church, Bristol
St. Michael the Archangel Church, Derby
St. Adalbert Church, Enfield
St. Augustine Church, Hartford
Holy Trinity Church, Hartford
SS. Cyril and Methodius Church, Hartford
St. Stanislaus Church, Meriden
Holy Cross Church, New Britain
Sacred Heart Church, New Britain
St. Mary's Church, New Haven
St. Joseph's Church, New Haven
St. Stanislaus Church, New Haven
St. Mary Church, Newington
Church of the Immaculate Conception, Norfolk
Immaculate Conception Church, Southington
St. Joseph Church, Suffield
St. Casimir Church, Terryville
St. Mary Church, Torrington
St. Hedwig Church, Union City
St. Patrick - St. Anthony Church, Hartford
SS. Peter and Paul Church, Wallingford
St. Anne Church, Waterbury
Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Waterbury
Former parishes
St. Anne/Immaculate Conception Parish, Hartford
St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, Waterbury
Education
Seminaries
St. Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield
High schools
Academy of Our Lady of Mercy, Lauralton Hall , Milford
Canterbury School , New Milford
East Catholic High School , Manchester
Holy Cross High School , Waterbury
Northwest Catholic High School , West Hartford
Notre Dame High School , West Haven
Sacred Heart Academy , Hamden
Sacred Heart High School , Waterbury
St. Paul Catholic High School , Bristol
Priests