Thomas Mathias Lenihan

Thomas Mathias Lenihan (August 12, 1844 – December 15, 1901) was an Irish-born American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Cheyenne in Wyoming from 1896 until his death in 1901. He was the brother of Bishop Mathias Clement Lenihan.

Biography

Early life Thomas Lenihan was born on August 12, 1844, in Mallow, County Cork, in Ireland to Edmund and Mary (née Donovan) Lenihan. When he was about five years old, he family immigrated to the United States and settled in Dubuque, Iowa, by 1850. At his confirmation by Bishop Mathias Loras, Lenihan took the name Mathias in honor of the bishop.

At age 12, Lenihan entered St. Thomas Seminary in Bardstown, Kentucky, where he received his classical education. His younger brother, Mathias Lenihan was ordained in 1879 and become Bishop of Great Falls in Montana, in 1904. His charge included an extensive mission that stretched over 200 miles, from Des Moines, Iowa to the Minnesota border and from Ackley to Sioux City, Iowa.

In civic affairs, Lenihan in 1892 was appointed to the state's Russian famine relief committee by Governor Horace Boies. That same year, also spoke out in favor of the prohibition of alcohol and encouraged the formation of temperance societies to combat alcohol abuse.

In 1893, it was reported that the Vatican was planning to erect a new Diocese of Sioux City and appoint Lenihan as bishop. However, the creation of the diocese was postponed for nine years.

Bishop of Cheyenne On December 18, 1896, Lenihan was named the second bishop of Cheyenne by Pope Leo XIII. At first there was some confusion in the press, who mistakenly believed that Reverend Bartholomew C. Lenihan, his cousin and the vicar general of Dubuque, had been appointed. Thomas Lenihan received his episcopal consecration on February 24, 1897, from Archbishop Hennessy, with Bishops Henry Cosgrove and Thomas Bonacum serving as co-consecrators, at St. Raphael's Cathedral. When Lenihan arrived in Cheyenne in 1897, the diocese contained eight priests, nine churches, and one parochial school for 3,000 Catholics. By the time of his death three years later, the diocese had 6,000 Catholics served by 26 churches, 15 priests, and four parochial schools.

Later life and death Lenihan's health deteriorated while in Wyoming due to its high altitude and cold .

Thomas Lenihan died in Marshalltown on December 15, 1901, at age 57.