Lawrence Scanlan
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Scanlan was an Irish
Roman Catholic
missionary
and the first Bishop of Salt Lake City
, Utah
(1887-1915).
, County Tipperary
, to Patrick and Catherine (née Ryan) Scanlan. He studied at All Hallows College
in Dublin, where he was ordained
to the priesthood
on June 28, 1868. He departed for the United States
the following July, later arriving at the Archdiocese of San Francisco
in California
in November. He then served as a curate
at St. Patrick's Church and later at St. Mary's Cathedral
. In 1869 he became pastor
of Pioche
, Nevada
.
After briefly returning to California to serve in Petaluma, Scanlan volunteered for the mission
in the Utah Territory
, where he arrived at Salt Lake City in August 1873. There was then only one Catholic church in the territory, serving the nearly 800 members largely scattered among the region's various mining camps. Traveling by horseback, stagecoach, or rail, he developed a fairly regular circuit in which he visited the mining
camps at Park City
, Bingham Canyon
, Mercur
, Stockton
, Ophir
, and Silver Reef
at least once a month. Scanlan introduced the Sisters of the Holy Cross
from Indiana
, and founded St. Mary's Academy and later Holy Cross Hospital in 1875. He opened numerous parishes
and schools
, and also established All Hallows College, Kearns-St. Ann's Orphanage
, and Judge Mercy Hospital. He even celebrated Mass
at the LDS tabernacle in St. George, Utah
in 1879.
of Utah and Titular Bishop
of Lavanden by Pope Leo XIII
. He received his episcopal consecration
on June 29, 1887 from Archbishop Patrick William Riordan
, with Bishops Eugene O'Connell
and Patrick Manogue
serving as co-consecrators
, at San Francisco
. In 1890 Scanlan purchased an area of land for to establish a cathedral
for $35,000 and ground was broken in 1899. When the vicariate was elevated to the rank of a diocese
on January 30, 1891, Scanlan was named the first Bishop of Salt Lake
.
. The construction of the cathedral was begun in 1900 and completed in 1909. On August 15, 1909, the cathedral was dedicated by Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore. The total cost of the construction itself was $344,000, a small fortune for the Utah Catholics of that time.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
and the first Bishop of Salt Lake City
Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, officially in Latin Dioecesis Civitatis Lacus Salsi, is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. It comprises the entire state of Utah. Also known as the Utah Catholic Church or the See of Salt Lake City, its mother church is the...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
(1887-1915).
Early life
Lawrence Scanlan was born in Ballytarsna, near CashelCashel, County Tipperary
Cashel is a town in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 2936 at the 2006 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of Cashel. Additionally, the cathedra of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly was originally in the town prior to the English Reformation....
, County Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
, to Patrick and Catherine (née Ryan) Scanlan. He studied at All Hallows College
All Hallows College
All Hallows College is a Roman Catholic college located in Drumcondra, Dublin, Ireland. All Hallows is one of six linked colleges of Dublin City University, meaning that the college's degrees are validated and accredited by the university.-History:...
in Dublin, where he was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
to the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
on June 28, 1868. He departed for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
the following July, later arriving at the Archdiocese of San Francisco
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the United States. It covers the City and County of San Francisco and the Counties of Marin and San Mateo...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in November. He then served as a curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
at St. Patrick's Church and later at St. Mary's Cathedral
Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, also known locally as Saint Mary's Cathedral, is the principal church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco in San Francisco, California...
. In 1869 he became pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
of Pioche
Pioche, Nevada
-External links:*...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
After briefly returning to California to serve in Petaluma, Scanlan volunteered for the mission
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
in the Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
, where he arrived at Salt Lake City in August 1873. There was then only one Catholic church in the territory, serving the nearly 800 members largely scattered among the region's various mining camps. Traveling by horseback, stagecoach, or rail, he developed a fairly regular circuit in which he visited the mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
camps at Park City
Park City, Utah
Park City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population was 7,558 at the 2010 census...
, Bingham Canyon
Bingham Canyon Mine
The Bingham Canyon Mine, also known as the Kennecott Copper Mine, is an open-pit mining operation extracting a large porphyry copper deposit southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, in the Oquirrh Mountains. It is the deepest open-pit mine in the world. The mine is owned by Rio Tinto Group, an...
, Mercur
Mercur, Utah
Mercur is a historical hard rock mining ghost town located at in Tooele County, Utah, USA. Its elevation from sea level is approximately 2,042m...
, Stockton
Stockton, Utah
Stockton is a town in Tooele County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 616 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Stockton is located at ....
, Ophir
Ophir, Utah
Ophir is a town in Tooele County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 23 at the 2000 census, a decrease of two from the 1990 figure of 25.-History:...
, and Silver Reef
Silver Reef, Utah
Silver Reef is a ghost town in Washington County, Utah, United States, about northeast of St. George and west of Leeds. Silver Reef was established after John Kemple, a prospector from Nevada, discovered a vein of silver in a sandstone formation in 1866. At first, geologists were uncertain about...
at least once a month. Scanlan introduced the Sisters of the Holy Cross
Sisters of the Holy Cross
The Sisters of the Holy Cross headquartered on the same grounds as Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana, is one of three Catholic congregations of religious sisters which trace their origins to the foundation of the Congregation of Holy Cross by the Blessed Father Basil Anthony-Marie Moreau,...
from Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, and founded St. Mary's Academy and later Holy Cross Hospital in 1875. He opened numerous parishes
Parish (Catholic Church)
In the Roman Catholic Church, a parish is the lowest ecclesiastical geographical subdivision: from ecclesiastical province to diocese to deanery to parish.-Requirements:A parish needs two things under common law to become a parish...
and schools
Catholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
, and also established All Hallows College, Kearns-St. Ann's Orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
, and Judge Mercy Hospital. He even celebrated Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
at the LDS tabernacle in St. George, Utah
St. George, Utah
St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles ...
in 1879.
Episcopacy
On November 23, 1886, Scanlan was appointed Vicar ApostolicApostolic vicariate
An apostolic vicariate is a form of territorial jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church established in missionary regions and countries that do not have a diocese. It is essentially provisional, though it may last for a century or more...
of Utah and Titular Bishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Lavanden by Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
. He received his episcopal consecration
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on June 29, 1887 from Archbishop Patrick William Riordan
Patrick William Riordan
Patrick William Riordan was a Canadian-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of San Francisco from 1884 until his death in 1914.-Early life and education:...
, with Bishops Eugene O'Connell
Eugene O'Connell
Eugene O'Connell was the first Roman Catholic bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grass Valley, California.-Early pastoral appointments:O'Connell was ordained to the priesthood on May 21, 1842...
and Patrick Manogue
Patrick Manogue
Patrick Manogue was a miner '49er, pioneer priest and the founding Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, California.-Early life:...
serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
, at San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. In 1890 Scanlan purchased an area of land for to establish a cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
for $35,000 and ground was broken in 1899. When the vicariate was elevated to the rank of a diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
on January 30, 1891, Scanlan was named the first Bishop of Salt Lake
Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, officially in Latin Dioecesis Civitatis Lacus Salsi, is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. It comprises the entire state of Utah. Also known as the Utah Catholic Church or the See of Salt Lake City, its mother church is the...
.
Legacy
The greatest achievement during Scanlan's tenure was the Cathedral of the MadeleineCathedral of the Madeleine
The Cathedral of the Madeleine is a Roman Catholic church in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was completed in 1909, and currently serves as the cathedral, or mother church, of the Diocese of Salt Lake City. It is the only cathedral in the U.S. under the patronage of St. Mary Magdalene.The...
. The construction of the cathedral was begun in 1900 and completed in 1909. On August 15, 1909, the cathedral was dedicated by Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore. The total cost of the construction itself was $344,000, a small fortune for the Utah Catholics of that time.