Thomas Albert Andrew Becker

The Most Reverend Thomas Albert Andrew Becker
Bishop of Savannah

See	Savannah
Installed	May 16, 1886
Term ended	July 29, 1899
Predecessor	William Hickley Gross
Successor	Benjamin Joseph Keiley
Other posts	Bishop of Wilmington (1868–86)
Orders
Ordination	July 18, 1859
Consecration	August 16, 1868
Personal details
Born	(1832-12-20)December 20, 1832 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Died	July 29, 1899(1899-07-29) (aged 66) Washington, Georgia
Denomination	Roman Catholic Church

Thomas Albert Andrew Becker (December 20, 1832 – July 29, 1899) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware (1868–86) and the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia (1886–99).

Biography

Early life and education

Thomas Becker was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to German Protestant parents.^[1] After attending the Allegheny Institute, he entered the Western University of Pennsylvania and later completed his studies at the University of Virginia.^[2] In Virginia, he met Bishop John McGill, who persuaded him to convert to Catholicism.^[3] After being received into the Catholic Church, he decided to enter the priesthood and went to Rome in 1854 to study at the Urban College of Propaganda.^[2] He there received a Doctor of Sacred Theology degree.

Ordination and ministry

On July 18, 1859, Becker was ordained a priest by Cardinal Costantino Patrizi Naro at the Basilica of St. John Lateran.^[4] Following his return to the United States, he was assigned to a mission including Martinsburg and Berkeley Springs in West Virginia.^[1] When his churches were turned into barracks during the Civil War, he was appointed to the faculty of Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where he served as professor of theology, ecclesiastical history, and Sacred Scriptures.^[3] He later became secretary to Archbishop Martin Spalding, whom he assisted in the preparation for the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1866.^[2] He afterwards served as pastor of St. Peter's Church in Richmond.^[1]

Bishop of Wilmington

On March 3, 1868, Becker was appointed the first Bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Wilmington by Pope Pius IX.^[4] He received his episcopal consecration on the following August 16 from Archbishop Martin Spalding, with Bishops Richard Whelan and John McGill serving as co-consecrators.^[4] He selected as his episcopal motto: Ora pro Nobis (Latin: "Pray for us").^[5]

At that time, the Diocese of Wilmington comprised the entire state of Delaware, nine counties of Maryland, and two counties of Virginia, east of the Chesapeake Bay, known collectively as the Delmarva Peninsula.^[6] During his 18-year tenure, Becker oversaw a three-fold increase in the number of priests and a doubling of the number of churches.^[6] He also established an orphanage and academy for boys, an academy for girls, and two additional parochial schools.^[6] He wrote a series of articles on the idea of a Catholic university, which attracted wide attention, and was an outspoken supporter of the temperance movement.^[5]

Bishop of Savannah

On March 26, 1886, Becker was appointed the sixth Bishop of Savannah by Pope Leo XIII.^[4] He was installed on the following May 16.^[4] During his tenure, he added an episcopal residence to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, which he completed with the building of spires in 1896.^[5] After the cathedral was nearly destroyed by a fire in 1898, he solicited funds for its rebuilding.^[5]

Becker died at age 66.

Notes

1 2 3 "Thomas Andrew Becker". Catholic Encyclopedia.
1 2 3 Shea, John Gilmary (1886). The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the United States. New York: Catholic Publications.
1 2 Corcoran, James Andrew, ed. (1894). The American Catholic Quarterly Review. XIX. Philadelphia: Charles A. Hardy.
1 2 3 4 5 Cheney, David M. "Bishop Thomas Albert Andrew Becker". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
1 2 3 4 "The Right Reverend Thomas A. Becker, D.D.". Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah.
1 2 3 "A Brief History of the Diocese of Wilmington". Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington.

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Thomas Andrew Becker". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.

External links

Episcopal succession

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by None	Bishop of Wilmington 1868–1886	Succeeded by Alfred Allen Paul Curtis
Preceded by William Hickley Gross	Bishop of Savannah 1886–1899	Succeeded by Benjamin Joseph Keiley

Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington
Bishops	Thomas Albert Andrew Becker Alfred Allen Paul Curtis John James Joseph Monaghan Edmond John Fitzmaurice Michael William Hyle Thomas Mardaga Robert Edward Mulvee Michael Angelo Saltarelli William Francis Malooly
Coadjutor bishop	Hubert James Cartwright
Churches	Cathedral Cathedral of St. Peter Parishes St. Joseph's Church, Greenville, DE St. John the Baptist Church, Newark, DE St. Joseph's Church, Middletown, DE St. Peter's Church, Queenstown, MD St. Francis Xavier Church, Warwick, MD Resurrection Church, Wilmington, DE St. Anthony's Church, Wilmington, DE St. Catherine of Siena Church, Wilmington, DE St. Hedwig's Church, Wilmington, DE St. Joseph's Church, Wilmington, DE St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church, Wilmington, DE St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, Wilmington, DE
Education	High Schools Archmere Academy, Claymont, DE Padua Academy, Wilmington, DE Saints Peter and Paul High School, Easton, MD St. Elizabeth High School, Wilmington, DE St. Mark's High School, Wilmington, DE St. Thomas More Preparatory, Magnolia, DE Salesianum School, Wilmington, DE Ursuline Academy, Wilmington, DE Primary Schools Mount Aviat Academy, Childs, MD St. Edmond's Academy, Wilmington, DE Former College St. Mary's College
Priests	John Barres Benjamin Joseph Keiley
Catholicism portal

Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah
Ordinaries	Bishops Francis Xavier Gartland John Barry Augustin Verot Ignatius Persico William Hickley Gross Thomas Albert Andrew Becker Benjamin Joseph Keiley Michael Joseph Keyes Gerald Patrick Aloysius O'Hara Thomas Joseph McDonough Gerard Louis Frey Raymond W. Lessard J. Kevin Boland Gregory John Hartmayer
Churches	Cathedral Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
Education	High Schools Aquinas High School Benedictine Military School Mount de Sales Academy Pacelli High School St. Vincent's Academy
Catholicism portal

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