Bishop Thomas J Welsh

Bishop Thomas J. Welsh, 87, passed away Thursday, February 19, 2009 in Lehigh Valley Hospital after a short illness. Personal: Bishop Welsh was the second bishop of Allentown. He served from 1983 to 1998, when he retired and was succeeded by Bishop Edward Cullen. Services: He will be buried Feb. 28 at St. Nicholas Cemetery in his hometown of Weatherly after a series of services this week. Thursday, February 26 Welsh's body will be transferred to the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena at 18th and Turner Streets in Allentown in a 9 a.m. ceremony. A public memorial Mass will be held at 11 a.m. and visitation will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, February 27, An 11 a.m. Mass will be held for Catholic school students. That Mass is also open to the public but seating will be limited. Visitation will be held from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. and a vigil service will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, February 28, Visitation will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. Cardinal Justin Rigali of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will be principal celebrant of a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. Downing Funeral Home, Inc., 1002 W. Broad St. Bethlehem, PA 18018 is in charge of arrangements. www.downingfuneralhome.com.

Anderson: Bishop Welsh Was 'a Great Champion of Life' and 'Dedicated Shepherd of the Faithful'

Supreme Knight Carl Anderson issued the following statement concerning the death of Bishop Thomas J. Welsh, who passed away on Feb. 19: "Bishop Welsh, who served both as the first bishop of Arlington, Va., and the second bishop of Allentown, Pa., was a strong, dedicated champion of life. I had the opportunity to walk with him during the annual March for Life, where he was a regular participant for many years. I am grateful for having been among the members of his flock, since I lived in Arlington throughout the time that he was bishop there. Knights of Columbus, and all who cherish the gift of life, have lost a good friend, whom we will always remember fondly."

Former Arlington Bishop Welsh dies

The end of an era for diocese he founded; funeral services set for next week

Mike Flach | Catholic Herald

2/19/09

Arlington’s founding bishop, Thomas J. Welsh, died Feb. 19 after a brief illness, thus closing a remarkable chapter in diocesan history. He was 87.

All funeral services will take place at the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena, 18th and Turner Streets, Allentown, Pa.

Memorial Masses will be celebrated Feb. 26 and 27 at 11 a.m. each day. A vigil service will be held Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.

Visitation will be held Feb. 26 from 5 to 8 p.m., Feb. 27 from 3 to 9 p.m. and Feb. 28 from 8 to 10 a.m.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated Feb. 28 at 11 a.m. Burial will take place at St. Nicholas Cemetery in Weatherly, Pa.

Bishop Welsh’s installation in Arlington on Aug. 13, 1974, began a historic era for the Catholic Church that covers 21 counties in Northern Virginia. The diocese at the time consisted of 136,000 Catholics in 49 parishes and seven missions. Those numbers have changed dramatically during the past 35 years. Arlington now has more than 410,000 Catholics, 68 parishes and seven missions.

Bishop Welsh was an auxiliary bishop in Philadelphia and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa., on June 4, 1974, when Pope Paul VI announced that the Richmond Diocese, one of the oldest in the country, would be split to form the new Arlington Diocese. St. Thomas More Church would serve as its cathedral.

Msgr. Richard J. Burke, pastor of St. Thomas More at the time, served as chairman of the installation committee. Msgr. Paul V. Heller, pastor of St. James Parish in Falls Church, read the papal bull, which outlined the boundaries of the new diocese. Concelebrants at the Aug. 13 installation Mass included the late Archbishop Jean Jadot, apostolic delegate, former Baltimore Archbishop William Borders and the late Philadelphia Cardinal John Krol.

Thomas Welsh was born Dec. 20, 1921, in Weatherly, Pa., in what is now the Allentown Diocese. He was educated at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and received his doctorate in canon law at Catholic University in Washington. He was ordained a priest for the Philadelphia Archdiocese on May 30, 1946. He served the archdiocese in a variety of roles, including parish priest, high school teacher, retreat worker, Tribunal judge and seminary rector. He was ordained auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia April 2, 1970.

After more than eight years in Arlington, Bishop Welsh was appointed the second bishop of Allentown on Feb. 8, 1983, and installed March 21, 1983. He retired from Allentown in December 1997.

Laying a firm foundation

Much of the success Arlington enjoys today is the direct result of the strong foundation established by Bishop Welsh. He welcomed women religious into the diocese with open arms, including the Poor Clares, the Daughters of St. Paul, the Vocation Sisters from England, the Dominican Sisters of Nashville and Our Lady’s Missionaries of the Eucharist.

He recognized the need to reach out to both Hispanic and Vietnamese immigrants who flocked to the Washington area in the mid-1970s. The Vietnam War was about to end, and many South Vietnamese immigrants were forced to leave their homeland and settled in the Washington area.

The Office of Migration and Refugee Services was established in 1975 after Bishop Welsh was contacted by the U.S. Catholic Conference, now the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Deacon Daniel Resendes was appointed its first director. By the end of 1975, more than 2,300 refugees had settled in the diocese. In 1979, Bishop Welsh established Holy Martyrs of Vietnam Parish in Arlington to minister directly to the Vietnamese community.

A strong proponent of the Catholic press, Bishop Welsh established the Arlington Catholic Herald in August 1975 and hired Charles W. Carruth as its founding editor. The first issue of the new paper rolled off the presses in January 1976.

He approved the establishment of Christendom College in 1977 and approved the purchase of the building and property that now houses Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax.

As a way of mobilizing the laity, the bishop established the Brent Society, an organization of Catholic lay professionals that took its name from the Brent family, the first permanent Catholic settlers in Virginia. The society’s distinguished list of presidents over the years included Bill Grant, Mary Meade and Gordon Hermes.

Bishop Welsh established the Family Life Bureau (now the Family Life Office) in 1977 under the direction of Father Franklyn McAfee. The bureau organized diocesan pro-life activities, which included the March for Life and special Masses and prayer vigils against abortion. The bishop remained throughout his life a strong spokesperson for life issues.

A lasting legacy

While in Arlington, Bishop Welsh established six new parishes: St. Stephen the Martyr in Middleburg; St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Lake Ridge; Our Lady of the Blue Ridge in Madison; St. Catherine of Siena in Great Falls; St. John Neumann in Reston; and Holy Martyrs of Vietnam in Arlington.

He dedicated 11 new churches and several more were near completion or in the planning stages when he left Arlington. In fact, Bishop John R. Keating’s first official act after his installation as the second bishop of Arlington in 1983 was the dedication of Precious Blood Church in Culpeper.

Even in retirement, Bishop Welsh continued to be a visible presence in the diocese due to his involvement with the Catholic Distance University. Marianne Evans Mount, CDU’s executive director, gives the bishop an enormous amount of credit for the university’s continued success. Last year CDU celebrated its silver anniversary. Bishop Welsh’s remarks at CDU’s annual gala were legendary for their wit and self-deprecating humor.

Bishop Loverde's Statement on the Death of Bishop Thomas Welsh

It is with profound human sadness that our diocesan family of Arlington has received the announcement of the death of our beloved founding bishop, His Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas J. Welsh. Bishop Welsh was indeed our father in faith, sent by Pope Paul VI in 1974 to form the newly-created diocesan Church of Arlington. Attentively, faithfully and devotedly, Bishop Welsh nurtured this nascent church for nine years until 1983 when he was transferred to become the Bishop of the Diocese of Allentown.

Bishop Welsh's influence was far-reaching and enriching: initially setting up the Chancery and the Tribunal and providing for the development of the diocese by establishing 6 parishes and 4 schools. In fact, he established the first Vietnamese parish in the United States in 1979. Understanding how blessed a diocese is with the presence of cloistered nuns, he invited the Poor Clares to found a monastery in Alexandria in 1977. With a pastor's solicitude for the ongoing formation of God's people, he began the Catholic Distance University, initially known as the Catholic Home Study Institute. He approved the establishment of Christendom College in 1977 and arranged for the purchase of the building and property which now houses Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax. Under his supervision, The Arlington Catholic Herald was first published and the Catholic Charities Ball was initiated.

Keeping his eyes focused on the example of Mary, the Mother of God, he gave himself totally and used his gifts and talents unsparingly to restore all things in Christ. To the vision of steadfast faith and the practice of pastoral charity, he added his welcoming personality and a keen sense of humor.

Now that he has been called to his eternal reward in our true home, we mourn his earthly passing yet rejoice in his having attained the goal to which each one of us is destined: life on high in Christ Jesus Our Lord.

A memorial Mass for the repose of Bishop Welsh will be celebrated in the Cathedral of Saint Thomas More in Arlington on a date to be announced.

May the Good Shepherd give this faithful shepherd Bishop Thomas J. Welsh eternal life in His Divine Presence! May Bishop Welsh, our Founding chief pastor, continue to pray for us: bishop, clergy, religious and laity, as we journey on our own pilgrimage of faith towards the Vision of the Triune God, where, we pray, he already is and where he awaits one day our own arrival. "Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of Your Master!"