The second bishop, Bernard O'Reilly, spent his time securing priests for the still young diocese all the while helping to curb the anti-Catholic movements of the time propagated by the Know Nothing Party. To provide for the education of the young, O'Reilly brought to his diocese the Sisters of Mercy, establishing them in his episcopal city in 1851. In January 1856, O'Reilly was lost at sea on board the steamer "Pacific". It wasn't until two years later that the third bishop of the diocese was installed, Francis Patrick McFarland, known as the "Civil War Bishop." It was during his time that the Diocese of Providence was created in 1872. Despite ill health, McFarland was able to participate in the First Vatican Council (1869-1870).