Thomas Joseph Toolen - Later Life and Death

Later Life and Death

At age 83, Toolen resigned as Bishop of Mobile on September 29, 1969, after over forty years of service. On the same date, he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Glastonia by Pope Paul VI. He died in his sleep seven years later, aged 90.

His funeral Mass was held at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on December 9, 1976. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who delivered the eulogy, praised Toolen for "talking about human rights long before there was talk of civil rights." He is buried in the crypt of Immaculate Conception Cathedral.