John Tuigg

John Tuigg (February 19, 1820, Donoughmore, Ireland – December 7, 1889, Altoona, Pennsylvania) was the third Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Rt. Rev. John Tuigg
Bishop of Pittsburgh and Administrator of Allegheny
Church	Roman Catholic Church
See	Pittsburgh
In office	January 11, 1876 – December 7, 1889
Predecessor	Michael Domenec
Successor	Richard Phelan
Orders
Ordination	May 1850
Personal details
Born	February 19, 1820 Donoughmore, Ireland
Died	December 7, 1889 (aged 69) Altoona, Pennsylvania

Biography

Tuigg's coat of arms as bishop. His motto, Sit nomen Domini benedictum, translates to "Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Tuigg was born in 1820 in Donoughmore, Ireland,[1] and educated at All Hallows College in Drumcondra.[2] In 1849, when Michael O'Connor—the bishop of Pittsburgh at the time—traveled to Dublin, calling for volunteers for missionary work in America, young Tuigg was the first to respond. He reached Pittsburgh in December 1849, and finished his studies at St. Michael's Seminary, where he was appointed professor for a brief time. Tuigg was ordained a priest in May 1850,[1] and was soon after appointed secretary to the bishop, Michael Domenec. He was also an assistant priest in Saint Paul Cathedral. Tuigg was then transferred to St. Bridget's parish, and with characteristic energy, immediately began to erect a new church. Soon, however, he was transferred to mission work in Altoona, where he remained until 1876.[2]

Father Tuigg had been appointed vicar general for the eastern part of the diocese of Pittsburgh, but the Diocese of Allegheny split from the Diocese of Pittsburgh and Bishop Domenec was selected to lead the new diocese. Tuigg was selected to preside over the see of Pittsburgh—in fact, he was officially notified that the Pope would not accept any declination of the honor.[2] Appointed in January, on March 19, 1876 he was consecrated bishop of Pittsburgh;[1] upon his accession he found that the Panic of 1873 had left the diocese's property and finances in disarray. Yet Bishop Tuigg extricated the diocese from its difficulties and gave new impetus to the young suffragan diocese.[2]

Upon the retirement of Bishop Domenec in 1877, the territory that had belonged to the Diocese of Allegheny was left sede vacante. Bishop Tuigg was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the territory,[1] but this new and increased burden was more than he could bear, and Tuigg's health began to give way. After having suffered a paralytic stroke, he took a sabbatical. Though he had begun to recover, Bishop Tuigg returned, and suffered another stroke. His bad health forced him to retire; his successor, Richard Phelan, was appointed coadjutor to the two sees with right of succession. At the time, the combined Pittsburgh and Allegheny dioceses contained 133 churches and 191 chapels, convents, and educational institutions.[2] Bishop Tuigg died in Altoona on December 7, 1889 and is buried in the cemetery of St. John Church in that city.[1]

It may be said of him that he combined the qualities of firmness and gentleness to a degree rarely found in the same individual; strong and unyielding when confident of the justice and propriety of any position he took, he was at the same time kind and courteous to those from whom he differed. Proofs of his executive ability, his piety, and his self-sacrificing zeal abound throughout the diocese over which God called him to rule, and which he left in better condition than it had known for some years.

— Regis Canevin, Bishop of Pittsburgh (1904–1920)[3]

Sources

References

1. "History of Bishops". Diocese of Pittsburgh. Archived from the original on December 31, 2009. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
2. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. VI. New York: James T. White & Company. 1896. p. 337.
3. Regis Canevin (1911). "Pittsburgh". The Catholic Encyclopedia. XII. Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved January 27, 2010.

Bibliography

• Glenn, Francis A. (1993). Shepherds of the Faith 1843-1993: A Brief History of the Bishops of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh: Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. ISBN none.