Thomas Heslin

Who was Thomas Heslin?

Thomas Heslin was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Natchez from 1889 until his death in 1911.

One of seven children, Thomas Heslin was born in Killoe, County Longford, to Patrick and Catherine Heslin. Upon the completion of his classical studies in Granard, he came to the United States at the invitation of Archbishop Jean-Marie Odin in 1863. He then studied theology and philosophy under the Lazarists at diocesan seminary of New Orleans. Too young to receive ordination, he taught at Jefferson College for several years.

He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop John Quinlan on September 8, 1869. He then served as a curate at the Cathedral of St. Louis for a month, when he was transferred to St. Vincent de Paul Church and later to St. Patrick's Church. From 1874 to 1889, he was pastor of St. Michael's Church in New Orleans.

On March 29, 1889, Heslin was appointed the fifth Bishop of Natchez, Mississippi, by Pope Leo XIII. He received his episcopal consecration on the following June 18 from Archbishop Francis Janssens, with Bishops Edward Fitzgerald and Anthony Durier serving as co-consecrators.