Andreas Thiel was a Bishop of Ermland  in East Prussia

East Prussia

East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...

 from 1885–1908.

Thiel was born in Lokau (Tłokowo, Gmina Jeziorany

Gmina Jeziorany

Gmina Jeziorany is an urban-rural gmina in Olsztyn County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. Its seat is the town of Jeziorany, which lies approximately north-east of the regional capital Olsztyn....

, Olsztyn County

Olsztyn County

Olsztyn County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat is the city of Olsztyn, although the city...

) in the district of Rößel

Reszel

Reszel is a town in Poland in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. The population is about 5,700.Reszel was originally a settlement built by the Bartian tribe of Old Prussians and conquered by the Teutonic Knights in 1241. The native Prussians later recaptured the settlement and held it for five...

 (Reszel). After attending the local school of Lokau, Thiel visited the gymnasium

Gymnasium (school)

A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...

 in Rößel and Braunsberg

Braniewo

Braniewo is a town in northeastern Poland, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 18,068 . It is the capital of Braniewo County...

 (Braniewo), where he started to study Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 divinity at the Collegium Hosianum

Collegium Hosianum

The Collegium Hosianum was the Jesuit collegium in Royal Prussia, Poland, founded in 1565, 1566 by Cardinal Stanislaus Hosius in Braniewo . The city of Braniewo was then part of the Diocese of Warmia , a semi-autonomous part of Poland with cardinal Hosius as its prince-bishop...

. Thiel was ordained in 1849 and gained his doctorate in 1853. In 1855 he habilitated as a Professor of canon law

Canon law

Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...

 and ecclesiastical history. Thiel was one of the founders of the Historischer Verein für Ermland (historical association for Ermland) and published several treatises about the regional history.

In 1870 he became capitular of the Frauenburg (Frombork) Cathedral and in 1871 vicar general

Vicar general

A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular...

of the Ermland. In 1885 Thiel received the episcopal consecration. He died in Frauenburg.