Thomas Jerome Welsh

Thomas Jerome Welsh (December 20, 1921—February 19, 2009) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Arlington (1974–83) and as Bishop of Allentown (1983–97).

Early life and education

Thomas Welsh was born in Weatherly, Pennsylvania, one of five children Raised in a strict Irish Catholic family, he received his early education at the parochial school of in Weatherly. He then attended Schwab High School, also in Weatherly, and later began his studies for the priesthood at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook in 1937.

Priesthood

On May 30, 1946, Welsh was ordained a priest by Cardinal Dennis Dougherty at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul. He was then sent to continue his studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he earned a doctorate in canon law in 1949. During his summers at the Catholic University, he served as a curate at in Philadelphia, in Philadelphia, and in Doylestown.

In 1949, Welsh became a professor at Southeast Catholic High School (now St. John Neumann High School) in Philadelphia. He was assigned as a curate at in Philadelphia in 1951, and named a member of the Archdiocesan...
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