Francis Augustine Thill

Francis Augustine Thill (October 12, 1893—May 21, 1957) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Salina from 1938 until his death in 1957.

Biography

Francis Thill was born in Dayton, Ohio, to Bernard and Margaret (née Schele) Thill.^[1] After attending the University of Dayton, he entered Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West at Cincinnati in 1914. As a seminarian he established and organized the Catholic Students' Mission Crusade to aid missionaries in foreign fields.^[1] Thill was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Henry K. Moeller on February 28, 1920.^[2] He then furthered his studies at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum in Rome, and toured American missionary outposts in the Orient.^[1] Upon his return, he served as professor of oratory at Mount St. Mary's, and became chancellor of the Cincinnati Archdiocese (1935) and Domestic Prelate of His Holiness (1937).^[1]

On August 26, 1938, Thill was appointed the fourth Bishop of Concordia, Kansas, by Pope Pius XI.^[2] He received his episcopal consecration on the following October 28 from Archbishop John T. McNicholas, O.P., with Archbishops Francis Beckman and Urban Vehr serving as co-consecrators, at St. Monica's Cathedral in Cincinnati.^[2] He was installed by Archbishop John J. Glennon in Concordia on November 15, 1938.^[1] Despite the lingering effects of the Great Depression, Thill managed to liquidate the dicoese's debt of nearly a quarter of a million dollars in late 1942.^[1] On December 23, 1944, the episcopal see was moved from Concordia to Salina,^[3] much to the chagrin of local Catholics.^[1]

During his tenure, he also laid the cornerstone for Sacred Heart Cathedral on June 4, 1951 and later dedicated it on June 6, 1953.^[1] He erected or remodeled twenty-five churches, ten schools, eleven rectories, nine convents, and six chapels.^[1] He ordained thirty-five priests and founded the Catholic Youth Organization of Concordia in 1939.^[1]

Thill later died at age 63.^[2] He is buried at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Salina.^[1]

References