Bishop Patrick N. Lynch (1858-1882)

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Bishop Patrick N. Lynch (1858-1882)

 

Patrick N. Lynch was born in 1817 in Kilberidogue, Ireland, to Conlaw Peter Lynch and Eleanor MacMahon Neison. In 1819, he and his parents immigrated to the United States, where they settled in Cheraw, South Carolina.  Lynch attended the Seminary of St. John the Baptist in Charleston where he studied under Bishop John England. In 1833, Bishop England sent Lynch, then 17 years old, to Rome, Italy, to study at the Collegium Urbanum de Propaganda Fide.

In 1840, Lynch became an ordained priest and returned to Charleston where he was assigned as pastor of St. Mary of the Annunciation. After the death of Bishop Ignatius Reynolds in 1855, the presbytery elected Lynch to serve as the administrator of the diocese. Pope Pius IX did not appoint Lynch as bishop of Charleston until 1857. He was consecrated in 1858. Bishop Lynch died in 1882.

Rise and Destruction, 1843-1890
Bishop Patrick N. Lynch (1858-1882)