Education
Born on January 1, 1828 in Sralee, near Ballyragget, County Kilkenny, Ireland, he was educated by private tutors, and at Street Kieran"s College, Kilkenny.
Born on January 1, 1828 in Sralee, near Ballyragget, County Kilkenny, Ireland, he was educated by private tutors, and at Street Kieran"s College, Kilkenny.
In 1850, as a seminarian, he volunteered to accompany Bishop Michael O"Connor to the United States, and entered Saint Mary"s Theological Seminary, Baltimore, Maryland. He was ordained priest in Pittsburgh on May 4, 1854. He built a new church at a cost of more than $150,000, and also completed the schools that his predecessor, had begun.
During the absence of Bishop John Tuigg in 1881 he was appointed administrator of the dioceses of Pittsburgh and Allegheny, and he was subsequently made vicar-general.
In 1885 he was nominated coadjutor to the two sees, with right of succession, and on 2 August was consecrated bishop of Cebeyra in partibus infidelium by Archbishop Patrick John Ryan. He ultimately succeeded Bishop Tuigg on December 7, 1889.
Phelan died on December 20, 1904 and is buried in Saint Mary Cemetery in the city"s Lawrenceville neighborhood.
