Our Hundred and Twenty-Fifth

Details: 28 September 2012

Big Second

The first Bishop of Lincoln, the Most Reverend Thomas Bonacum, was rather short and stocky in stature, in contrast to his successor, the Most Reverend J. Henry Tihen, who was, as photographs from those times indicate, a tall and husky man, with a booming voice. He was appointed to be the second Bishop of Lincoln May 12, 1911, only a few months after the death and funeral of Bishop Bonacum. At the time, the diocesan newspaper of Omaha noted that the speed with which Pope Saint Pius X made the Tihen appointment indicated that his name must have been the unanimous suggestion both of the Diocesan Consultors of Lincoln and the Bishops of the Province of Saint Louis. That paper said too that he was already well known and agreeable to the priests and people of the Lincoln Diocese as a priest of strong conservative views and as "an orator of great ability." This knowledge probably came about because of his reputation for powerful speeches on the Midwest Chautauqua circuit, where he was already becoming even more popular than William Jennings Bryan. (Chautauqua gatherings in those times were occasional assemblies of rural folks for purposes of entertainment, to hear lectures on many topics, but mostly on politics and religion, and to obtain a variety of educational instructions that would be useful to farm families and small town folk. Those gatherings also served the purpose of useful socialization for people who ordinarily lived apart from much contact with others, living as they did in remote parts of the rural prairies. The name came from the town of Chautauqua in Upstate New York.)

John Henry Tihen was the oldest of ten children of devout Catholic parents, Herman and Maria. He was born on July 14, 1861, in Oldenburg, Indiana, and spoke both German and English from his early childhood. He always preferred to use his middle name rather than John and always signed himself "J. Henry". His father was in the construction business, and it was an offer to build a new wall around the new Missouri state prison in Jefferson City that caused the family, when Henry was four years old, to move to Missouri and settle in Jefferson City, which at that time was in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. There Henry attended a Catholic elementary school and a public high school and then went to Saint Benedict College in Atchison, Kansas.

Initial Vocational Steps

It was at Benedictine College that Henry Tihen discovered his vocation to the priesthood, while, at the same time, he was excelling in all his academic work. He graduated in 1882, as the valedictorian of his class. The Archdiocese of Saint Louis then sent him for his canonical philosophical and theological studies to Saint Francis de Sales Seminary in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At that time the languages of instruction in that seminary were Latin and German, in both of which Tihen was fluent. He was ordained a priest on April 26, 1886, by Archbishop Peter Kenrick, in Saint Louis and then was assigned as assistant pastor to Saint John Parish there. Three years later, his pastor there, Father J. J. Hennessy, was appointed to be the Bishop of Wichita, and Hennessy persuaded Tihen to ask to accompany him there. The request of Tihen and Hennessy was granted, and so in 1889, Tihen started work as a priest of Wichita, assigned to be the Rector of Saint Aloysius Pro-Cathedral there.

By 1905 he was named a Monsignor and then in 1910 given the higher rank of "Prelate". Because of his eloquence, the Lyceum Bureau linked him up to the Chautauqua arrangements, and, as a consequence, in addition to his work at the Cathedral, he was booked to speak all over the United States on a variety of social, economic, and patriotic topics. His speeches were not limited to Catholic audiences, but were heard and appreciated by non-Catholics as well. He generously donated all his income from his talks to aid in the construction costs for a new Cathedral in Wichita, over which project Bishop Hennessy had placed him. The new Cathedral in Wichita was not yet completed when Tihen was named the second Bishop of Lincoln on May 12, 1911, and so he was consecrated a Bishop in the Wichita Pro-Cathedral of Saint Aloysius.

Bishop Tihen

His episcopal consecration took place on July 6, 1911. A large group of priests and Catholic laity from Lincoln rode the Rock Island railroad overnight down to Wichita for the occasion. The main consecrating Bishop was J.J. Hennessy and the co-consecrators were Bishop Nicholas Matz of Denver and Bishop James Keane of Cheyenne. Archbishop John Glennon of Saint Louis preached the sermon. Two Lincoln priests were the new Bishop’s deacons of honor and five other Bishops were present for the liturgy along with 250 priests. On the following July 19th, Bishop Tihen set out by railroad to his installation in Lincoln. When his train reached Fairbury, a large group of Lincoln priests climbed aboard to give him a hearty welcome. When his train arrived an hour behind schedule in Lincoln, he was met by a large throng of priests, religious, and laity. Father George Agius, who had been Bishop Bonacum’s secretary, presented him with the keys to a new Buick motor car, a gift from the Lincoln priests. Then a large automobile procession took place with cars filled with visiting clergy, Knights of Columbus and Knights of Saint George, and members of various parish and diocesan Catholic organizations, which escorted him to Saint Theresa Pro-Cathedral for the installation Mass. The Pro-Cathedral was decorated with American flags and banners inscribed: "Welcome to our new Bishop". After the Mass, there was a banquet at the Lyceum Hall and an evening reception, with speeches from Governor Aldrich, Mayor Armstrong of Lincoln and other important State and local officials.

The local Lincoln newspaper described Tihen: "He has an impressive personality. He is tall and graceful. His movements are easy. In conversation his voice is mellow, but in the pulpit it is powerful. One of the first things one notices in meeting the new Bishop is his smile." As he immediately set to work in the Diocese, everyone was impressed by Bishop Tihen’s "pipe organ voice", which, without any public address system, could capture the attention of crowded churches and even large outdoor crowds for talks sometimes lasting up to ninety minutes.

Whereas Bishop Bonacum had been a bundle of nervous energy and wore his emotions "on his sleeve", Bishop Tihen was more calm and even phlegmatic and choleric in temperament.

However, in a systematic way he pushed forward to completion the many projects started by Bishop Bonacum, including the construction of new churches, schools, and rectories. He did his best and met with some success in reconciling to the Church some of the troublesome priests who had been adverse and hostile to Bishop Bonacum. His congenial personality made him quite popular even with non-Catholics, and this did much to dissipate the ugly anti-Catholic prejudices which stained a good part of Southern Nebraska in those times. He often was invited to attend and address civic organizations and their meetings, and he served on the board of the Nebraska State Historical Society. However, his tenure in Nebraska was not too long and, to the disappointment of many, soon God’s Providence gave him another destiny.