Thomas Francis Hendricken (May 5, 1827 – June 11, 1886) was an Irish-born American Catholic prelate who served as the first Bishop of Providence from 1872 until his death in 1886.

Hendricken's goal after ordination was to enter the Society of Jesus and serve as a missionary in China or Japan.

[1] During the 19th century, American bishops were actively recruiting young Irish priests to serve the growing number of parishes in the United States.

Bishop Bernard O'Reilly met Hendricken at St. Patrick's and persuaded him to immigrate to the United States and serve in the Diocese of Hartford.

[2] Hendricken quickly decided that St. Patrick needed a larger new church to serve the growing population of Catholic immigrants.

[7][1] The growing number of French-Canadian Catholics in Immaculate Conception Parish moved Hendricken to establish a French-language school.

In 1869, Hendricken persuaded the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal to send a contingent of French-speaking religious sisters to Waterbury.

[8] Hendricken also purchased land to create St. Joseph's Cemetery in West Warwick, Rhode Island.

In 1868, Hendricken traveled by train with 16 year-old Michael J. McGivney, a parishioner at Immaculate Conception, to Saint Hyacinth, Quebec.

During the 1860s, Rhode Island was experiencing explosive growth as Irish and French-Canadian immigrants arrived to work in the mills and factories.

[10] The archdiocese opened the unfinished cathedral for his funeral service and he was entombed in a crypt beneath the high altar.