Bishop Kevin Farrell

The Chief Shepherd of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas

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Dallas’ first bishop…an interesting coincidence

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In an interesting coincidence, the anniversary of the arrival of Bishop Thomas Brennan, first Bishop of Dallas, falls within days of our celebrating the ordination of our two new bishops.

Bishop Brennan was not appointed until some six months after the Diocese of Dallas was erected by Pope Leo XIII on July 15, 1890. A priest of the Diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania, he was consecrated there on April 5, 1891, and after a long journey by train and steamboat, he arrived in Dallas the evening of April 24, 1891.

Both Dallas newspapers took note of his arrival. The Dallas Times Herald carried a front page box on April 25: “Bishop Brennan, the new Catholic bishop of the diocese, arrived in Dallas last evening and was given a warm welcome by the Catholic clergy and laymen of the city. Bishop Brennan will begin work at once on the new cathedral and other institutions.”

On the next day the Dallas Morning News reported that the new bishop had arrived from Galveston on the Houston and Texas Central Railroad. The paper reported that among those greeting Bishop Brennan were Father Joseph Blum, pastor of Sacred Heart Church , Father Henry Brickley, pastor of St. Patrick Church and several prominent laymen including: “Messers James Moroney, T. F. McEnnis, Hugh Blekeney, Tom King and Michael Coerver. James Moroney was the great grandfather of James Moroney, who is publisher of the Dallas Morning News and Michael Coerver was the great grandfather of Monsignor Robert Coerver, pastor of Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Rockwall.

Like today, it was a time of great growth for the Diocese of Dallas. During Bishop Brennan’s first year the number of priests increased by 11, four new religious communities were brought into the diocese and 12 new churches were built. This was accomplished despite an economic depression and heavy indebtedness inherited by the new diocese. The indebtedness undoubtedly was responsible for the bishop’s failure to build a cathedral. That would be accomplished 11 years later by his successor, Bishop Edward Joseph Dunne.

The Cathedral would finally be completed in 2007 with the addition of a steeple and bell tower thanks to another Moroney, James Moroney Jr., grandson of the James Moroney who greeted Bishop Brennan.

Shakespeare was correct when he penned that “what’s past is prologue.” (The Tempest)

Our Diocese’s Gift to the Church…Two Archbishops and Nine Bishops

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It is an honor for a diocese when one of its priests is raised to the episcopate. It speaks not only of the quality of the presbyterate but of the spirit and dynamism of the faith of the people. With the episcopal ordinations of Bishop-elect Douglas Deshotel and Bishop-elect Mark Seitz on April 27 the Diocese of Dallas will have contributed two archbishops and nine bishops to the church in Texas and adjoining states.

Father Joseph Patrick Lynch was the first. He was Vicar General of the Diocese of Dallas when he was appointed to succeed Bishop Edward J. Dunne in 1911 as Third Bishop of Dallas. Bishop Lynch served in that position for 43 years.

Two Dallas priests have become archbishops after serving in smaller dioceses. Father Aloysius Gerken was Bishop of Amarillo for seven years before being named Archbishop of Santa Fe in 1933, a post he held for ten years. Monsignor Michael Jarboe Sheehan was named Bishop of Lubbock in 1983 and served there for ten years before being appointed Archbishop of Santa Fe in 1993, a position he still holds.

Monsignor Wendelin Nold was pastor of Christ the King Church, when he was named co-adjutor Bishop of Galveston in 1948. He succeeded to the See in 1950 and retired in 1975. Monsignor Lawrence Michael De Falco was pastor of St. Patrick Co-Cathedral in Fort Worth when he was named Bishop of Amarillo in 1963, where he served until his death in 1979.

Monsignor Thomas Ambrose Tschoepe was Vicar General and pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral when the Holy Father named him to the Diocese of San Angelo in 1966. He returned home in 1969 as Fifth Bishop of Dallas and retired in 1990, the only native son to serve as ordinary. Monsignor Augustine Wenceslaus Danglmayr was Vicar General when he was named Auxiliary Bishop in 1942 a post he filled until his retirement in 1962.

The two most recent appointments were Father David Eugene Fellhauer, who was Judicial Vicar when he was named Bishop of Victoria in 1990, where he is serving today, and Monsignor Michael Gerard Duca, who was named Bishop of Shereveport by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008. He is still in that post.

Our two Bishops-elect will join a distinguished group of predecessors when they are ordained next week. Like those who have gone before, they too bring honor to our diocese.