Thomas Grace (bishop of Sacramento)


Thomas Grace was the second Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento, in Sacramento, California.

Early life

Thomas Grace was born in Wexford, Ireland. He was educated at St Peter's College, Wexford and All Hallows Missionary College, Dublin. Grace was ordained a priest on June 24, 1876 for the American missions. He was the pastor of several churches in Eureka, California, Carson City, Nevada, and Marysville, California. Grace dedicated St. Mary of the Lake Church in Nevada on the Feast of the Assumption, 1881. Eventually, Grace became the pastor of the pro-cathedral, Saint Rose of Lima Catholic Church, whose land was donated by the first governor of California, Peter Burnett.

Episcopal appointment

On February 27, 1896, Pope Leo XIII appointed Grace bishop of the Sacramento Diocese. He was ordained on June 16, 1896, by Archbishop Patrick William Riordan. He was the principal co-consecrator of Bishops Libert H. Boeynaems, Joseph Sarsfield Glass, his successor, Patrick Joseph James Keane, and then-Bishop John Joseph Cantwell.
Grace dedicated St. Patrick Church in Scotia, California, on March 28, 1905, and St. Joseph Catholic Church in Redding, California, on April 30, 1905. On October 30, 1906, he was given the property deed in Red Bluff, California, with the provision that it remain as a hospital for the Sisters of Mercy. On June 22, 1919, Grace dedicated St. Gall Catholic Church in Gardnerville, Nevada.
Grace helped launch the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Herald, with a message endorsing its scope and usefulness to the diocese on March 14, 1908.

Final years

Grace died while in office.

Legacy

Grace Day Home in Sacramento served for 82 years and was named for him. Bishop Grace is considered a bridge between modern California and its pioneer days.

Episcopal succession