{{Short description|Catholic bishop (1881–1947)}} {{Infobox Christian leader | type = | honorific_prefix = His Excellency, The Most Reverend | name = Thomas Henry McLaughlin | honorific_suffix = | title = Bishop of Paterson<br>Titular Bishop of Nisa in Lycia | image = Thomas Henry McLaughlin.jpg | image_size = | caption = | church = Roman Catholic Church | archdiocese = | diocese = | see = Diocese of Paterson | elected = <!-- or | appointed = --> | term = <!-- or term_start / term_end --> | predecessor = | successor = Thomas Aloysius Boland | other_post = Auxiliary Bishop of Newark (1935 to 1937)<br>Titular Bishop of Nisa in Lycia <!---------- Orders ---------->| ordination = July 26, 1904 | ordained_by = Balthasar Kaltner | consecration = July 25, 1935 | consecrated_by = Thomas J. Walsh <!---------- Personal details ---------->| birth_date = July 25, 1881 | birth_place = New York City, US | death_date = {{Death date and age|1947|03|17|1881|07|25}} | death_place = | buried = <!-- or | tomb = --> | nationality = <!-- use only when necessary per WP:INFONAT --> | religion = | parents = | education = University of Innsbruck | motto = | signature = | coat_of_arms = }} thumb|Statue and grave of Bishop McLaughlin at St. John the Baptist Cathedral, Paterson, New Jersey (2018) '''Thomas Henry McLaughlin''' (July 25, 1881 – March 17, 1947) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as president of Seton Hall College from 1922 to 1933 and as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Paterson in New Jersey from 1937 until his death in 1947.
McLaughlin previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Newark in New Jersey from 1935 to 1937
==Biography==
=== Early life === Thomas McLaughlin was born on July 25, 1881, in New York City to John and Margaret (née Byrne) McLaughlin.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Bishop Thomas Henry McLaughlin [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmclt.html |access-date=2026-02-07 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref> His family later moved to Montclair, New Jersey.
McLaughlin attended St. Francis Xavier College in New York City, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1901.<ref name="seton">{{cite news|work=Seton Hall University|title=Thomas H. McLaughlin papers|url=http://library.shu.edu/sc/shu0003.9_mclaughlin.html|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820064854/http://library.shu.edu/sc/shu0003.9_mclaughlin.html|archivedate=2008-08-20}}</ref> He then went to the University of Innsbruck in Innsbruck, Austria.
=== Priesthood === McLaughlin was ordained to the priesthood in Innsbruck for the Diocese of Newark by Bishop Balthasar Kaltner on July 26, 1904. McLaughlin earned a doctorate in sacred theology from Innsbruck in 1908.<ref name="curtis">{{cite book|last=Curtis|first=Georgina Pell|title=The American Catholic Who's Who|volume=VII|year=1947|publisher=Walter Romig|location=Grosse Pointe, Michigan}}</ref>
Returning to New Jersey, McLaughlin was appointed a professor at Seton Hall College at South Orange in 1908. He served as dean from 1914 until 1922, when he was elected president of Seton Hall and rector of Immaculate Conception Seminary.<ref name="curtis" /> He remained as president until 1933 and rector until 1938. He was named a domestic prelate by the Vatican in 1923, and appointed vicar general of the archdiocese in 1933.<ref name="seton" />
=== Auxiliary Bishop of Newark === On May 18, 1935, McLaughlin was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of Newark and Titular Bishop of ''Nisa in Lycia'' by Pope Pius XI.<ref name="rcdop">{{Cite web |title=Bishop Thomas H. McLaughlin, STD |url=https://rcdop.org/people/bishop-thomas-h-mclaughlin-std |access-date=2026-02-07 |website=Diocese of Paterson |language=en}}</ref> He received his episcopal consecration on July 25, 1935, from Archbishop Thomas J. Walsh, with Bishops John A. Duffy and Joseph H. Schlarman serving as co-consecrators.<ref name=":0" />
=== Bishop of Paterson === Pius XI named McLaughlin as the first bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Paterson on December 16, 1937.<ref name=":0" />He designated St. John the Baptist Church in Patterson as the cathedral. Thomas McLaughlin remained as bishop of Paterson until his death on March 17, 1947. He is buried at St. John the Baptist Cathedral Churchyard in Paterson.<ref name="rcdop" />
=== Relationship to Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich === McLaughlin's brother Paul McLaughlin was married to Anna Demjanovich, sister of Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich and Monsignor Charles Demjanovich. <ref>{{cite news |title=Bayonne Nun Proposed for Sainthood |newspaper=The Jersey Journal |location=Jersey City, New Jersey |date=November 13, 1946 |page=6 |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AMNEWS&docref=image/v2%3A1243C89DEE4DC187%40EANX-NB-1638C4D55B1E8FAD%402432138-1638B3118DB85356%405-1638B3118DB85356%40 |access-date=March 24, 2026}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-rel|ca}} {{succession box | before=– | title=Auxiliary Bishop of Newark| after=– | years=July 25, 1935 – December 16, 1937}} {{succession box | before=none | title=Bishop of Paterson| after=Thomas Aloysius Boland | years=December 16, 1937 – March 17, 1947}} {{s-end}}
{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson}} {{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLaughlin, Thomas H.}} Category:1881 births Category:1947 deaths Category:Clergy from New York City Category:Seton Hall University people Category:University of Innsbruck alumni Category:20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Category:Roman Catholic bishops of Paterson Category:20th-century American people