Communications at 6363 9th Avenue North, Saint Petersburg, FL 33710 US - Larkin Biography 1 of 2
|
Larkin Biography 1 of 2
Fr. Len Plazewski, Office of Vocations |
Most Reverend W. Thomas Larkin Second Bishop of Saint Petersburg 1923—2006 William Thomas Larkin was born March 31, 1923 in Mt. Morris, New York to William Larkin and Julia Beuerlein Larkin. His only sibling, Clarice, was born three years later. After completing high school, he enrolled in St. Andrew College Seminary in Rochester, New York to begin his studies for the priesthood. After graduating from St. Andrew’s, the future bishop of St. Petersburg went on to study theology at St. Bernard Seminary also in Rochester. It was after his ordination to the diaconate that Deacon Larkin first heard of the great need for priests in Florida. A visit to the seminary by Archbishop Joseph Hurley of St. Augustine made an impression on him and he asked for a transfer. Bishop Kearney of Rochester agreed to a transfer and on May 15, 1947 at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Syracuse, New York, Deacon Larkin was ordained a priest by Bishop Walter Foery for service in the Diocese of St. Augustine. Father Thomas Larkin packed his bags and headed to Florida to begin his priestly service. After arriving in Jacksonville by train, Father Larkin’s first priestly assignment was as an assistant pastor at St. Paul Catholic Church in Daytona Beach. Father Larkin, however, was not given much time to acclimate to his new state and diocese. Within a few months, Archbishop Hurley sent him to Rome to study at the Angelicum University. While studying in Rome he lived with and befriended a newly ordained priest from Poland, Fr. Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II. Following the completion of a Doctorate in Sacred Theology, Father Larkin returned to Florida in the Fall of 1949 to take up his assignment as assistant pastor of Holy Family Church in North Miami. Four years later, Father Larkin was named founding pastor of Christ the King Parish in Jacksonville, which he shepherded until 1967. It was during this time that he attended the closing session of the Second Vatican Council with Archbishop Hurley. In 1967, Father Larkin was recognized for his outstanding work in the parish and diocese and was honored as a papal chamberlain with the title of Monsignor. It was also in 1967 that Monsignor Larkin came to Florida’s West Coast with his appointment as pastor of St. Cecelia Parish in Clearwater.
