Bishop Tobias Mullen

Peace in Unity

After Bishop Young died, the Diocese of Erie went through two years without a bishop at all. Msgr. John D. Coady, the vicar general of the diocese and also the pastor of Saint Joseph Parish in Oil City, served as apostolic administrator and oversaw confirmations and appointments.

Msgr. Coady had the legal affections of a bishop and aided in the establishment of three or four parishes during that time.

“He was a sturdy hand to steer the rudder of the ship,” Father Pino says.

Bishop Tobias Mullen, born in Ireland, was appointed bishop of Erie in 1868. Prior to his appointment, Bishop Mullen was a priest and vicar general of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and also served a great deal of time at parishes in what is now the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. He left a big mark on the Diocese of Erie: His crowning achievement as Erie’s shepherd was the construction of the St. Peter Cathedral on Ninth and Sassafras streets.

People thought he was crazy—at the time, the location was at the edge of the wilderness. But Bishop Mullen had vision, and saw the potential for growth of the area. Construction on the cathedral began in 1873 with $9,000; an additional $250,000 was raised by generous Catholics from all across the diocese over the next 20 years. At a time when anti-Catholic sentiment was running high, the building of the cathedral bolstered the unity of Catholics in Erie.

Socioeconomically, the landscape of the diocese changed greatly during Bishop Mullen’s tenure. By 1880, the influx of immigrants into the U.S. was in full force. The cathedral was completed in 1893, just in time to serve the growing population of Erie.

But while the cathedral was rising, Bishop Mullen’s health was declining. In 1898, he suffered a paralytic stroke while saying Mass at the cathedral. For the first time in the history of the diocese, the pope appointed a coadjutor bishop—Bishop John Fitzmaurice, who would later become Erie’s fourth bishop. Bishop Mullen resigned from his post in 1899 and died just after the dawn of the 20th century on April 22, 1900.

As Bishop Mullen lay dying, Bishop Fitzmaurice said Mass for him at his bedside. He summoned a young neighborhood boy to serve as altar boy and the young boy was so nervous he accidentally washed the bishop’s hands with wine instead of water. He also knocked the bishop’s biretta off his desk and crushed it underfoot.

God had big plans for that klutzy server, however. His name was John Mark Gannon.