Thomas Michael O'Leary was the third 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...

 Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts

Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States comprising the counties of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden in the state of Massachusetts. It is led by...

 (1921-1949).

The third of seven children, O'Leary was born in Dover

Dover, New Hampshire

Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, in the United States of America. The population was 29,987 at the 2010 census, the largest in the New Hampshire Seacoast region...

, New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

, to Michael and Margaret (née Howland) O'Leary. He graduated from Mungret College

Mungret College

Mungret College, situated west of Limerick, Ireland, near the village of Mungret, was a Jesuit apostolic school and a lay secondary school from 1882 until 1974 when it closed as a school for the last time. The college produced over 1000 priests in that period...

 in Limerick

Limerick

Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...

, Ireland

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...

 in 1892, and then studied philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 and theology

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

 at the Grand Seminary of Montreal

Grand séminaire de Montréal

The Grand séminaire de Montréal is the sacerdotal school of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal. The institution was founded by the sulpicians in 1840 on the demands of Ignace Bourget. A branch of Université Laval's faculty of theology was installed in the seminar in 1878...

 in Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. 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....

 by Bishop Maxime Decelles

Maxime Decelles

Maxime Decelles was a Canadian Roman Catholic bishop. He was the 5th Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe.-External links:*...

 on December 18, 1897. He then served in 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...

 at Manchester

Manchester, New Hampshire

Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...

 (1898-1899) and Concord

Concord, New Hampshire

The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....

 (1899-1904), and was named chancellor

Chancellor

Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...

 (1904) and later vicar general

Vicar general

A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular...

 (1914) of the Diocese of Manchester

Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the region of New England in the United States comprising the entire state of New Hampshire...

.

On June 16, 1921, O'Leary was appointed Bishop of Springfield

Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States comprising the counties of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden in the state of Massachusetts. It is led by...

 by Pope Benedict XV

Pope Benedict XV

Pope Benedict XV , born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, reigned as Pope from 3 September 1914 to 22 January 1922...

. He received his episcopal

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....

 consecration

Consecration

Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...

 on the following September 8 from Archbishop Arthur Alfred Sinnott, with Bishops Michael Joseph Curley

Michael Joseph Curley

Michael Joseph Curley was an Irish-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. Originally a priest and bishop in the Diocese of St...

 and George Albert Guertin

George Albert Guertin

George Albert Guertin was an American Roman Catholic bishop.Guertin was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, of French Canadian parentage. After attending St. Hyacinthe College in Quebec and St. Charles College in Sherbrooke, he studied at St. John's Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts; he was the first...

 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...

. During his tenure, he introduced the Passionist

Passionist

The Passionists are a Roman Catholic religious order founded by Saint Paul of the Cross . Professed members use the initials C.P. after their names.-History:St...

s and Sisters of Providence

Sisters of Providence of Holyoke

The Sisters of Providence of Holyoke, Massachusetts, are a congregation of Roman Catholic religious sisters. In November 1873, four Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul from Kingston, Ontario, went to Holyoke to care for the sick poor...

, extended Mercy Hospital, and opened 24 new parishes, and was co-founder and first president of Elms College

Elms College

The College of Our Lady of the Elms, often called Elms College, is a Catholic liberal arts college located in Chicopee, Massachusetts, near Springfield.- History :...

. He aided the Russian War Relief

Russian War Relief

Russian War Relief was an alleged Communist front group, circa 1944. According to a 1943 FBI report, the group was “infiltrated with known Communists, Communist leaders, fellow travelers, and front organizations.” The chairman of Russian War Relief was Edward C...

 following World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

O'Leary later died at age 74.