admin RT. REV. JOHN TIMON, D.D. That brilliant intellectual gifts may be dedicated to the highest and holiest uses is a truth which has been exemplified within the memory of many living Buffalonians by the career of the late Rt. Rev. John Timon, D.D., first Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.
Bishop Timon was the son of James and Margaret (Leddy) Timon, natives of Ireland, who came to this country and settled at Conevago, Adams County, Pa., where John Timon, afterward Bishop Timon, was born February 12, 1797. In 1802 the family removed to Baltimore, Md., where the father opened a dry-goods store in which the son served as clerk. In 1818 the senior Timon removed with his family to Louisville, Ky., where for a short time he resumed business, in 1819 going to St. Louis, where he conducted a dry-goods establishment till 1823. In 1823. the subject of this sketch joined the community of Lazarists, and the next two years he spent in study at the seminary of St. Mary’s, at Barrens, Mo. In 1824 he was ordained sub-deacon, and in 1825 was ordained to the priesthood. For a number of years he was professor at the Barrens seminary and served as a missionary in the neighboring counties. Meantime he joined the order of St. Vincent de Paul.
In 1835 Father Timon was appointed Visitor by the General Assembly of the Congregation of Missions at Paris. He served in this capacity till 1840, when he was appointed Prefect Apostolic of Texas, which office he filled for seven years. September 5, 1847, he received his bulls as Bishop of the new Diocese of Buffalo, and on October 17 of the same year was consecrated in that office. He assumed the duties of his new position October 22, 1847. Bishop Timon’s field of labors comprised all of the State of New York west of Cayuga, Tompkins and Tioga counties. The December after his installation he consecrated St. Louis’ Church, and this event was the precursor of others of kindred character, so numerous that they can here be indicated only in outline. Throughout his large field Bishop Timon founded churches, missions and educational and benevolent institutions. It was he who introduced into Buffalo Diocese the Franciscan Fathers, the Brothers of the Holy Infancy of Jesus, the Christian Brothers, the Sisters of Charity, the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Nuns of the Society of the Good Shepherd. ‘
Bishop Timon was characterized by great fervor, power and effectiveness as a preacher. He was the spiritual father of his flock, profound in his knowledge of human nature, charitable in his judgments, broad in his beneficence and tender in his sympathy. A scholar and a man abreast of the best thought and culture of his day, Bishop Timon’s intellectual powers were broadened by wide knowledge of men and affairs. He traveled extensively and several times visited Rome.
The death of Bishop Timon occurred on April 16, 1867.
SOURCE: Memorial and Family History of Erie County New York; Volume I