Thomas Welsh (bishop)

Raised in a strict Irish Catholic family, he received his early education at the parochial school St. Nicholas Church in Weatherly.

[1] He then attended Schwab High School, also in Weatherly, and later began his studies for the priesthood at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook, Pennsylvania, in 1937.

Peter and Paul in Philadelphia[3] 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.

[2] He was assigned as a curate at Holy Child Parish in Philadelphia in 1951, and named a member of the archdiocesan Metropolitan Marriage Tribunal in 1958.

He was raised to the rank of monsignor by Pope Paul VI in September 1965, and became rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in 1966.

[10] During his tenure, Welsh established a "Stand Up For Life" campaign to encourage anti-abortion efforts, and frequently joined local abortion protesters for their monthly vigil at the Allentown Women's Clinic in Hanover Township.

[1] Welsh established the first Youth Ministry Office in the diocese and raised $13 million in an endowment campaign for diocesan schools and other educational efforts.

[2] He turned his home, a mansion purchased by Bishop McShea and bequeathed to the diocese upon his death, into a center for carrying on his pastoral work.