John Carroll -
The First Roman Catholic Bishop in the United States
|
|
By Michael Doyle
In Irelands
Own, No. 4826
John Carroll
(1735-1815) was born in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania on August 5th
1735. Carroll was the son of an important Maryland family with Irish connections
[his family were from south Offaly]
Due to the fact that
there were no schools for the training of priests in the American colonies,
he was sent to Europe for his education. He
went first of all to St. Omer in France,
became a Jesuit in 1753, studied at Liege,
Belgium and
was ordained in 1769. Fr. Carroll then taught in Flanders for four years, was
chaplain to Lord Arundel in England
before returning to Maryland
in 1774 just before the onset of the American fight for freedom.
One of the first things
Fr. Carroll did when he returned was to build a mission church at hist mother's house in Rock Creek which served the
Catholic population of the area and of nearby Virginia. Fr. Carroll did not
take an active part in the American fight for independence, although at the
request of the Continental Congress, he took part in a diplomatic mission to Canada where
an unsuccessful attempt was made to secure help, or neutrality, of French
Canadian catholics. On this mission, John Carroll
met the great Benjamin Franklin, a future President of the United States.
In 1783, John Carroll
and a number of priests came together and appealed to Rome for permission to continue their
mission work and to work under a superior chosen from among them. This led to
John Carroll's appointment as superior of the mission of the thirteen States,
with the power to confirm. During 1784 he wrote "An Address to the
Roman Catholics of the United States of North America" which was a
reply to the anti-Catholic views of a certain Charles Wharton. His pamphlet
was the first work published by an American Catholic in the United States.
 Fr. Carroll took up residence in Baltimore
and became a popular figure, head of the Library Company and of the trustees
of Baltimore College,
and a trustee of St. John's College, Annapolis.
In 1789, he was appointed the first American Bishop and the first See was
established in Baltimore.
In the year of 1781, Bishop Carroll founded the Sulpician
Seminary in Baltimore.
He also encouraged
Catholic religious orders of every kind to establish branches in the United States,
and, with the help of George Washington, secured federal funds for Catholic
missionaries to the Indians of the West.
In 1806, Bishop Carroll
laid the cornerstone of Baltimore Cathedral, having helped a Mr. Latroke in the design of the building. Following the
erection of four new Sees (Boston, New York, Philadelphia
and Bardstown) in 1808, John Carroll was made Archbishop in 1811.
During his years as
head of the U.S.
church, the Catholic population of the country grew from about 25,000 to
200,000. Archbishop Carroll had the very difficult task of adjusting to an
ancient faith a new political order, which he achieved with great skill. His
devotion to the American principles, such as religious freedom and seperation of Church and State, enabled him to win the
confidence of Catholics and Protestants alike. Indeed, Archbishop Carroll
laid the foundation of the Catholic Church in America which is still an
influence for the good in that bastion of democracy.
|
Source:
http://www.irishmidlandsancestry.com/content/offaly/people/carroll_john.htm
CARROL
HIGHLIGHTS
Born in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, in 1735.
Ordained a Jesuit priest when he was 34. Educated in Europe, returned to America as a missionary in 1773.
In 1784, appointed first ”Superior of the Mission of the Thirteen
United States“, and authorized to guide the infant
Church in this country.
Established Georgetown
University; St. Mary’s
Seminary, Baltimore; Mount St. Mary’s College and
Seminary, Emmitsburg, Maryland.
In 1776, sent by the Continental Congress with Benjamin Franklin and two others
on an unsuccessful mission
to Quebec to persuade French Canada to join in
the revolution.
In 1789, Pope Pius VI created the Diocese of Baltimore with Carroll as its
first bishop.
In 1804, became responsible for the territories in the Louisiana
Purchase.
In 1808, named the first archbishop in the United States.
In 1810, ordained in Baltimore the first Bishops
of Philadelphia, Boston and Bardstown.
His cousin, Charles Carroll of Carrollton,
was the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence.
His brother, Daniel, was one of the only two Catholic signers of the U.S.
Constitution.
He died in December 1815, after serving 25 years as bishop and archbishop.
Bishops of
Philadelphia
Bishop
Michael Francis Egan O.F.M.
First bishop of Philadelphia,
U.S.A., b. in Ireland, most probably in Galway, in 1761; d. at
Philadelphia,
22 July, 1814. Entering the
Order of St. Francis he was rapidly advanced to important offices. In his
twenty-sixth year he was appointed guardian of St. Isidore's,
the house of the Irish Franciscans, at Rome, and
held this position for three years, when he was transferred to Ireland. After labouring for several years as a missionary in his native
land, he responded to an earnest appeal of the Catholics of Lancaster, Pennsylvania,
and went to the United
States. Though lacking the constitution
demanded by the pastoral duties of that pioneer age, and suffering often from
sickness, Father Egan's priestly zeal and his eloquence in the pulpit gained
universal recognition, and, in April, 1803, he was appointed by Bishop Carroll
one of the pastors of St. Mary's church in Philadelphia. On 8 April, 1808, Pope
Pius VII erected this city into an episcopal see,
with Michael Egan as first bishop. Archbishop Carroll describes him to the Roman
authorities as "a man of about fifty who seems endowed with all the
qualities to discharge with perfection all the functions of the episcopacy,
except that he lacks robust health, greater experience and a greater degree of
firmness in his disposition. He is a learned, modest, humble priest who
maintains the spirit of his Order in his whole conduct." Owing to the
Napoleonic troubles, the papal Bulls did not reach America until the year 1810. On 28
Oct. Bishop Egan was consecrated by Archbishop Carroll in St. Peter's church, Baltimore. His brief
episcopate was embittered and his health shattered by the contumacious behaviour of the lay trustees of St. Mary's church, which
he had chosen for his cathedral. These trustees, who were tainted with the
irreligious notions of the times, without any legal right, and contrary to the
canons of the Church, claimed the privilege of electing and deposing their
pastors and of adjusting their salaries. This un-Catholic contention that
"the laity own the churches and the clergy are their hired servants"
disturbed the peace, retarded the progress, and threatened the existence of the
Catholic religion in Pennsylvania
during two episcopates. Bishop Egan's troubles were aggravated by the
insubordination of two Irish priests whom he had admitted to the diocese, James
Harold and his better-known nephew, William Vincent Harold. Bishop Egan died
worn out by his struggles to maintain his episcopal authority.
Source: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05324c.htm
Source: http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/beganm.html
Bishop Henry Conwell
Second
Bishop of Philadelphia, U.S.A., b. at Moneymore,
County Derry, Ireland,
in 1745; d. at Philadelphia,
22 April, 1842. After the death of Bishop Egan, in 1814, the Bishopric of
Philadelphia was offered successively to the Rev. Ambrose Marechal
and to the Very Rev. Louis de Barth, the administrator, but both these
clergymen, deterred by the contumacious attitude of the trustees of St. Mary's
church, returned the Bulls; whereupon the Holy See appointed (26
Nov., 1819) Henry Conwell, parish priest of Dungannon
and Vicar-General of Armagh, Ireland, who imprudently
accepted a task too heavy for his seventy four years. He had made his studies
in the Irish College
at Paris, where
his family had founded a burse. He was universally beloved by his people and
the clergy, and an ineffectual attempt was made to retain him in Ireland. He was
consecrated in London by Bishop Poynter, 24 Aug., 1820, and arrived in Philadelphia,
2 Dec., bringing with him a young priest named Keenan, subsequently for many
years pastor at Lancaster.
The seeds of future troubles had been sown during the vacancy, when the
administrator, without demanding credentials, stationed at St. Mary's the
brilliant but demagogic and unpriestly Rev. William
Hogan, who had so ingratiated himself with the board of trustees that when, on
12 Dec., the bishop revoked his faculties, a schism ensued which lasted for
many years. For details of the quarrel, the reader is referred to J. Gilmary Shea's "History of
the Catholic Church in the United
States" (see below). Bishop Conwell
conducted the controversy with dignity, but in the course of it, through desire
of peace, committed two errors of judgment. The first was the recalling to the
diocese and appointing as vicar-general of William Vincent Harold, a Dominican
whom his predecessor had dismissed. Contrary to the bishop's expectation, the
return of Harold complicated the situation. It was a more serious mistake that
on 9 Oct., 1826, he capitulated to the trustees, yielding to them the right of
determining salaries and of vetoing his appointments. Highly displeased at this
surrender of episcopal rights, the Holy See appointed an
administrator and summoned the bishop to Rome.
His explanations were pronounced unsatisfactory and he was forbidden to return
to his see. He did return to Philadelphia
and received permission to perform episcopal
functions, without interfering in matters of administration. In 1830 Francis
Patrick Kenrick arrived as coadjutor and
administrator, and Bishop Conwell spent his remaining years in seclusion and
prayer.
Source: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04349a.htm
Source: http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bconwell.html
Francis
Patrick Kenrick
KENRICK,
Francis Patrick, R. C. archbishop,
born in Dublin, Ireland,
3 December, 1797; died in Baltimore,
Maryland, 6 July, 1863. He prepared
for the priesthood in the College of the Propaganda at Rome in 1815-'21, and in
the latter year was selected to direct the newly established theological
seminary at Bardstown, Kentucky.
During the jubilee of
1826-'7, he attended Bishop Flaget in his pastoral
visitations, and gave public conferences on religion, which led to the
polemical discussions in which he was frequently engaged during the rest of his
life. In 1829 he attended the Council of Baltimore as theologian to Bishop Flaget, and was appointed assistant secretary.
He was nominated coadjutor
bishop of Philadelphia
in 1830, and was consecrated bishop of Arath in partibus infidelium on 6 June
at Bardstown by Bishop Flaget. The administration of
the diocese of Philadelphia
required at this time great tact and firmness. The trustees of St. Mary's
church, which was the bishop's cathedral, refused to recognize him as pastor,
but he interdicted the church, and the trustees finally submitted to his
authority. He then made a regulation that all church property in future should
be vested in the bishop. The trustees of St. Paul's
church, Pittsburg,
refused to accept this regulation, but after a bitter contest the bishop had
his way.
A large number of
congregations in Pennsylvania were without pastors,
and to remedy this evil he founded the Theological seminary of St. Charles Borromeo in Philadelphia
in 1838. During the cholera epidemic of 1832 he was active in his ministrations
to the sick. In 1842 he introduced the Order of the hermits of St.
Augustine into his diocese, and helped them to build the College of St. Thomas at Villanova.
During the anti-Catholic
riots of 1844 he constantly preached peace and forbearance, and patiently took
measures to restore the edifices that had been destroyed. He aided in building St. Joseph's College in
1851, and another of the same name in Susquehanna county.
On the death of Archbishop
Eccleson he was translated to the see of Baltimore in August, 1851, and appointed by the pope
apostolic delegate to preside at a national council of all the archbishops and
bishops of the United States
in Baltimore in
May, 1852. Some years afterward he was invested with a "primacy of
honor" over the other archbishops.
During his stay in
Baltimore a great impulse was given to the erection of charitable and
educational institutions, among which were the Infant asylum, the Aged women's
home, St. Agnes's asylum for destitute sick, the School of St. Laurence at
Locust point, and the College of Loyola. He went to Rome in 1854 to take part in the
deliberations that resulted in the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate
Conception.
Archbishop Kenrick was a profound Hebrew scholar, and spoke the
principal modern languages fluently. He is considered the ablest theologian
that the Roman Catholic Church in the United
States has produced, and his theological works have been
largely used both in this country and in Europe.
His works are "Letters of Omicron to Omega" (1828); " Four
Sermons preached in the Cathedral of Bardstown " (Bardstown, 1829); "Theologia Dogmatica" (4
vols., Philadelphia, 1839-'40; new ed., 3 vols., Baltimore, 1857); " Theologia Moralis " (3
vols., Philadelphia, 1841-'3); "Letters on the Primacy of the Holy See and
the Authority of General Councils." in reply to Bishop Hopkins of Vermont
(1837; enlarged ed., with the title "The Primacy of the Apostolic See
vindicated," Baltimore, 1855); "The Catholic Doctrine on
Justification explained and vindicated" (Philadelphia, 1841); "
Treatise on Baptism" (New York, 1843):" Vindication of the Catholic
Church," a series of letters in reply to Bishop John H. Hopkins, and
"End of Religious Controversy controverted
" (Baltimore, 1855).
Archbishop Kenrick was dissatisfied with the condition of the text of
the English Roman Catholic Bibles that were used in the United States, which had widely departed from
the Rheims and Douay
translations. He devoted himself to a careful translation on the basis of the
original Rheims-Douay version, edited by Dr. Challoner,
with copious notes. This includes "The New Testament" (2 vols., New York, 1849-'51);
" Psalms, Books of Wisdom and Canticle of Canticles" (Baltimore, 1857); and
"Job and the Prophets" (1859).
--His brother, KENRICK,
Peter Richard, archbishop, born in Dublin,
Ireland, 17
August, 1806, was educated in his native country, and, after finishing his
theological course, was ordained priest about 1830. He followed his brother to
the United States in 1833,
and was appointed assistant pastor at the cathedral in Philadelphia.
Shortly afterward he also
took charge of the "Catholic Herald," and in 1835 he became pastor of
the cathedral parish. He was then made president of the diocesan seminary, in
which he also filled the chair of dogmatic theology, and he was next raised to
the rank of vicar-general of the diocese, and accredited by Bishop Brute as his
theologian to the Third Provincial Council of Baltimore in 1837.
Bishop Rosati,
of St. Louis,
demanded the appointment of a coadjutor in 1841, and Father Kenrick
was chosen for the post. He was consecrated bishop of Drasa
in partibus infidelium
in Philadelphia on 30 November, and succeeded
Dr. Rosati as bishop of St. Louis, 25 September, 1843.
Bishop Kenrick
found his diocese in financial trouble, and with a large quantity of unimproved
real estate, but, as the result of his efforts, it was soon freed from debt. It
comprised, when he became coadjutor, several states and territories, from which
so many new sees have been made that at present it embraces only the eastern
part of Missouri.
Bishop Kenrick
gave a great impetus to the work of building churches, he delivered a series of
lectures in St. Louis on the doctrines of his church, founded a magazine called
the "Catholic Cabinet," and established various schools.
In 1847 St. Louis was created an archiepiscopal see
by Plus IX, and Dr. Kenrick became archbishop. In
1858 he received large bequests that afterward enabled him to carry out
successfully his plans for endowing charitable and other institutions in St Louis. During the civil
war the archbishop devoted his energies to the relief of the sick and wounded
of both sides.
When, after the war, a
constitution was adopted by the state of Missouri,
one of whose articles required all teachers and clergymen to take a stringent
oath, he forbade his priests to do so, and the oath was afterward declared
unconstitutional.
In the Vatican
council he was one of the ablest opponents of the dogma of papal infallibility;
but as his objection was not to the truth but the opportuneness
of this doctrine, he at once accepted it when it was defined.
Archbishop Kenrick has introduced into his diocese numerous religious
orders, which have charge of four industrial schools and reformatories, and 88
parochial schools with 17,180 pupils. The cemetery of St. Louis,
laid out by him, is one of the finest on the continent. Among his works are
“The Holy House of Loretto, or An Examination of the
Historical Evidence of its Miraculous Translation;” and
"
Edited Appletons
Encyclopedia by John Looby, Copyright © 2001 VirtualologyTM
KENRICK, Francis Patrick,
R. C. archbishop, born in Dublin, Ireland, 3 December, 1797; died in Baltimore,
Maryland, 6 July, 1863. He prepared for the priesthood in the College of the
propaganda at Rome in 1815-'21, and in the latter year was selected to direct
the newly established theological seminary at Bardstown, Kentucky During the
jubilee of 1826-'7, he attended Bishop Flaget in his
pas-total visitations, and gave public conferences on religion which led to the
polemical discussions in which he was frequently engaged during the rest of his
life. In 1829 he attended the council of Baltimore
as theologian to Bishop Flaget, and was appointed
assistant secretary. He was nominated coadjutor bishop of Philadelphia in 1830, and was consecrated
bishop of Arath in partibus
infidelium on 6 June at Bards-town by Bishop Flaget. The administration of the diocese of Philadelphia required at
this time great tact and firmness. The trustees of St. Mary's church, which was
the bishop's cathedral, refused to recognize him as pastor, but he interdicted
the church, and the trustees finally submitted to his authority. He then made a
regulation that all church property in future should be vested in the bishop.
The trustees of St. Paul's
church, Pitts-burg, refused to accept this regulation, but after a bitter
contest the bishop had his way. A large number of congregations in Pennsylvania were without pastors, and to remedy this
evil he founded the Theological seminary of St. Charles Borromeo
in Philadelphia
in 1838. During the cholera epidemic of 1832 he was active in his ministrations
to the sick. In 1842 he introduced the Order of the hermits of St.
Augustine into his diocese, and helped them to build the College of St. Thomas at Villanova. During the
anti-Catholic riots of 1844 he constantly preached peace and forbearance, and
patiently took measures to restore the edifices that had been destroyed. He
aided in building St. Joseph's
college in 1851, and another of the same name in Susquehanna county.
On the death of Archbishop Eccleson he was translated
to the see of Baltimore in August, 1851, and
appointed by the pope apostolic delegate to preside at a national council of
all the archbishops and bishops of the United
States in Baltimore
in May, 1852. Some years afterward he was invested with a "
primacy of honor" over the other archbishops. During his stay in
Baltimore a great impulse was given to the erection of charitable and
educational institutions, among which were the Infant asylum, the Aged women's
home, St. Agnes's asylum for destitute sick, the School of St. Laurence at
Locust point, and the College of Loyola. He went to Rome in 1854 to take part in the
deliberations that resulted in the definition of the dogma of the immaculate conception. Archbishop Kenrick
was a profound Hebrew scholar, and spoke the principal modern languages
fluently. He is considered the ablest theologian that the Roman Catholic church in the United States
has produced, and his theological works have been largely used both in this
country and in Europe. His works are
"Letters of Omicron to Omega" (1828); " Four Sermons preached in
the Cathedral of Bardstown " (Bards-town, 1829); "Theologia
Dogmatica" (4 vols., Philadelphia, 1839-'40; new
ed., 3 vols., Baltimore, 1857); " Theologia Moralis " (3 vols., Philadelphia, 1841-'3);
"Letters on the Primacy of the Holy See and the Authority of General
Councils." in reply to Bishop Hopkins of Vermont (1837; enlarged ed., with
the title "The Primacy of the Apostolic See vindicated," Baltimore,
1855); "The Catholic Doctrine on Justification explained and
vindicated" (Philadelphia, 1841); " Treatise on Baptism" (New
York, 1843):" Vindication of the Catholic Church," a series of
letters in reply to Bishop John H. Hopkins, and "End of Religious
Controversy controverted " (Baltimore, 1855).
Archbishop Kenrick was dissatisfied with the
condition of the text of the English Roman Catholic Bibles that were used in
the United States, which had
widely departed from the Rheims and Douay translations. He devoted himself to a careful
translation on the basis of the original Rhemish-Douay
version, edited by Dr. Challoner, with copious notes.
This includes "The New Testament" (2 vols., New York, 1849-'51);
" Psalms, Books of Wisdom and Canticle of Canticles" (Baltimore,
1857); and "Job and the Prophets" (1859).--His brother, Peter
Richard, archbishop, born in Dublin, Ireland, 17 August, 1806, was educated in
his native country, and, after finishing his theological course, was ordained
priest about 1830. He followed his brother to the United
States in 1833, and was appointed assistant pastor at the
cathedral in Philadelphia.
Shortly afterward he also took charge of the " Catholic
Herald," and in 1835 he became pastor of the cathedral parish. He was then
made president of the diocesan seminary, in which he also filled the chair of
dogmatic theology, and he was next raised to the rank of vicar-general of the
diocese, and accredited by Bishop Brute as his theologian to the Third
provincial council of Baltimore
in 1837. Bishop Rosati, of St. Louis, demanded the appointment of a
coadjutor in 1841, and Father Kenrick was chosen for
the post. He was consecrated bishop of Drasa in partibus infidelium in Philadelphia on 30 November, and succeeded Dr. Rosati as bishop of St.
Louis, 25 September, 1843. Bishop Kenrick
found his diocese in financial trouble, and with a large quantity of unimproved
real estate, but, as the result of his efforts, it was soon freed from debt. It
comprised, when he became coadjutor, several states and territories, from which
so many new sees have been made that at present it embraces only the eastern
part of Missouri.
Bishop Kenrick gave a great impetus to the work of
building churches, he delivered a series of lectures in St. Louis on the doctrines
of his church, founded a magazine called the "Catholic Cabinet," and
established various schools. In 1847 St. Louis was created an archiepiscopal
see by Plus IX., and Dr. Kenrick became archbishop In
1858 he received large bequests that afterward enabled him to carry out
successfully his plans for endowing charitable and other institutions in St
Louis. During the civil war the archbishop devoted his energies to the relief
of the sick and wounded of both sides. When, after the war, a constitution was
adopted by the state of Missouri,
one of whose articles required all teachers and clergymen to take a stringent
oath, he forbade his priests to do so, and the oath was afterward declared
unconstitutional. In the Vatican council he was one of the ablest opponents of
the dogma of papal infallibility; but as his objection was not to the truth but
the opportuneness of this doctrine, he at once
accepted it when it was defined Archbishop Kenrick
has introduced into his diocese numerous religious orders, which have charge of
four industrial schools and reformatories, and 88 parochial schools with 17,180
pupils. The cemetery
of St. Louis, laid out by
him, is one of the finest on the continent. Among his works are "The Holy
House of Loretto, or An Examination of the Historical
Evidence of its Miraculous Translation"; and "Anglican
Ordinations."
Edited Appletons Encyclopedia, Copyright
© 2001 VirtualologyTM
|
Date
|
Age
|
Event
|
Title
|
|
3 Dec 1796
|
|
Born
|
Dublin,
Ireland
|
|
2 Apr 1821
|
24.3
|
Ordained Priest
|
Priest
|
|
25 Feb 1830
|
33.2
|
Appointed
|
Coadjutor Bishop of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, USA
|
|
6 Jun 1830
|
33.5
|
Ordained Bishop
|
Coadjutor Bishop of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, USA
|
|
22 Apr 1842
|
45.4
|
Succeeded
|
Bishop of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, USA
|
|
19 Aug 1851
|
54.7
|
Appointed
|
Archbishop of Baltimore, Maryland, USA
|
|
9 Oct 1851
|
54.8
|
Installed
|
Archbishop of Baltimore, Maryland, USA
|
|
8 Jul 1863
|
66.6
|
Died
|
Archbishop of Baltimore, Maryland, USA
|
Source: http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bkenrickf.html
Bishop William O'Hara
Scranton, PA
O'HARA, William, R. C.
bishop, born in County Derry, Ireland, about 18161 His parents emigrated to the United States
in 1820 and settled in Philadelphia,
where the son received his early education. He afterward entered Georgetown college, but, deciding
to become a priest, he went to Rome
and studied for eleven years in the Urban college of the propaganda. He was
ordained in 1843 and appointed pastor of St. Patrick's church, Philadelphia, where he remained, in 1856. He
was subsequently professor in the Seminary of St. Charles Borromeo,
and for some time acted as its rector. He became vicar-general of the diocese
in 1860. In 1868 the diocese of Scranton was
formed out of that of Philadelphia,
and Dr. O'Hara was appointed its first bishop, and consecrated on 12 July. The
new diocese contained fifty churches, most of them of a very primitive
character, attended by twenty-eight priests. At present (1888) there are
seventy-nine priests, seventy-four churches, forty-six stations, and twelve
convents.
Source: http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/boharaw.html
Molly Maguires
and Archbishop Wood
The miners, most of them Catholic, were
further isolated when Archbishop James Woods of Philadelphia, a man who had
converted from the Episcopal Church to Catholicism and who had more in common
with his friend Gowen (railroad and mine owner) than
with the poor Irish miners, banned all secret societies, including the AOH, and
threatened its members with excommunication. As Gowen
himself would later put it, "when these assassins, through their counsel,
speak of being Catholics, I desire to say to you that they have been denounced
by their Church and excommunicated by their prelates, and that I have the
direct personal authority of Archbishop Wood himself to say that he denounces
them all and that he was fully cognizant of and approved of the means I took to
bring them to justice."
Source: Making Sense of the Molly Maguires –
Kevin Kenny
James
Frederic Wood
WOOD, James Frederic,
archbishop, born in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, 27 April, 1813;
died there, 20 June. 1883. His father, an Englishman who had settled in this
country, carried on the business of an importer. The child was sent in his
eighth year to his English relatives in Gloucester,
where for five years he attended the free-school of St. Mary de Crypt. In his
fifteenth year he left Philadelphia for Cincinnati, where he had
been appointed clerk in a branch of the United States bank,
and in 1833 he became teller in the Franklin bank of that city, and in 1836 its
cashier. He was received into the Roman Catholic church
in April, 1836, by Archbishop Purcell, and a few months later resigned his post
in the bank and went to Rome
to study for the priesthood. In the College of the propaganda, where he
remained nearly seven years, the authorities appointed him prefect of
discipline. After his ordination in 1844 he returned to Cincinnati, where he acted as assistant
rector in the cathedral for ten years, and in 1854 he was appointed to the
pastorate of St. Patrick's. In 1857 he was consecrated bishop of Gratianopolis in partibus and
afterward he was transferred to Philadelphia,
his native city, where he was to act as coadjutor to Bishop Neumann with the
right of succession. The Philadelphia
diocese at that time had hastily undertaken more than it seemed likely to be
able to accomplish, and financial difficulties were producing apathy. Many
institutions for religion, education, and benevolence, a magnificent cathedral
among the number, had been begun, but their expense, so far cheerfully borne,
was beginning to be severely felt by the Roman Catholic population. As a
consequence, many of the buildings had been stopped altogether, and the others
were advancing in a slow and half-hearted way. But from the moment of Bishop
Wood's arrived things began to improve. Instead of waiting for the completion
of the cathedral to form its parish, he called a very strong one into instant
existence by simply erecting a large but inexpensive cathedral chapel, thus
securing immediate and permanent financial aid, which he then gradually
augmented by general collections. Bishop Neumann dying in 1860, his successor
could devote himself with still greater efficiency to the wants of the diocese.
The cathedral was hardly finished in 1864 when the foundation was laid at
Overbrook of the Seminary of St. Charles, the cost of which, $500,000, was
fully justified by the demands for pastors that were made by new churches. Many
other institutions--educational, charitable, or religious--were either
auspiciously begun or brought to a successful issue during his administration.
He was taken away from his ordinary duties three times by orders to present
himself at Rome--in 1862 to assist at the
canonization of the Japanese martyrs, in 1867 to celebrate the 1800th
anniversary of St. Peter and St. Paul, and in
1869 to take active part at the Vatican
council. In 1871, the s flourishing state of the diocese making a division
necessary, several episcopal districts were formed,
over which he was created archbishop in 1875. In 1880 he assisted at the Baltimore provincial
council, anal in 1882 the twenty-fifth anniversary of his elevation to the
bishopric was celebrated enthusiastically. His health was now feeble, yet he
allowed himself little or no relaxation from his numerous duties. Among his
favorite projects had been that of providing the cathedral with a grand altar,
decorating the interior in befitting style, and then paying off the debt. Most
of this he had successfully accomplished when death put a sudden end to his
labors. He was noted for his knowledge of sanitary laws as applicable to the
construction of new buildings, and no Roman Catholic institution was erected
without this subject receiving his careful consideration. He was especially
hostile to the introduction of political issues wood from other countries into
the United States,
and the stand he took on this question sometimes created discontent among his
flock.
Edited Appletons Encyclopedia, Copyright
© 2001 VirtualologyTM
Archbishop John Patrick Ryan
Sixth Bishop and second Archbishop of
Philadelphia, b. At Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland, 20 February, 1831; d.
At Philadelphia;
11 February, 1911. His early education was received at the school of the Christian Brothers in his
native town. In his twelfth year he entered the select school of Mr. J. L. Naughton, Richmond Street, Dublin,
where he began his Classical studies. In 1844, while a pupil at Mr. Naughton's school, he headed a delegation of students, and
in their name made an address to Daniel O'Connell, then a prisoner in Richmond Bridewell Prison. It is said that the great Liberator
complimented the young speaker, and predicted a brilliant future for him. In
1847 he was adopted for the Diocese of St. Louis in the United States
by Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick and entered St.
Patrick's College, Carlow. In 1852 he finished his
course and was advanced to deacon's
orders, but being too young to be ordained priest, he set out for St. Louis
with Rev. Patrick Feehan, a subject of the same
diocese, and afterward Archbishop
of Chicago, and on his arrival was appointed to teach in the Diocesan Seminary
at Carondelet. On account of his exceptional ability as a public speaker,
Archbishop Kenrick permitted. the
young deacon to preach
frequently in the cathedral. His fame went forth at once, and he drew large
audiences, made up not only of the regular members of the congregation, but of
the most prominent people of all denominations from various parts of the city
and more distant points. On 8 September, 1853, by special dispensation, he was
ordained priest and was appointed assistant rector at the cathedral. He served
there as assistant and as rector until 1861, when he was appointed to build the
Church of the Annunciation at St.
Louis. Having completed this task promptly and
successfully, he was transferred to the rectorship of
St. John's parish, at St. Louis. During all these years he was
noted for his zeal in the work of the ministry, for his faithfulness in
attending the military prisoners in Gratiot Street Prison during the Civil War,
for the frequency and effectiveness of his sermons, and for the large number of
converts, many of them persons of note, who by his influence were brought into
the Church.
In 1866 he attended the Second Plenary Council of
Baltimore as one of Archbishop Kenrick's theologians,
and was one of three priests chosen to preach on that occasion, the others
being Archbishop John Lancaster Spalding, and the late Rev. Isaac Hecker, C.S.P. In 1868 he spent a year in Europe
with Archbishop Kenrick. His fame as an orator had
preceded him, and he received calls from all sides. At Rome, at the request of Pope Pius IX, he
delivered the English Lenten
course for that year. Archbishop Kenrick appointed
him vicar-general and administrator of the diocese, during his attendance at
the Vatican Council. On 14 February, 1872, he was consecrated titular Bishop of
Tricomia, and Coadjutor Bishop of St. Louis with right of succession. After
serving faithfully and successfully in this capacity for twelve years, he was
made titular Archbishop
of Salamis on 6 January, 1884.
In the meantime the See of Philadelphia had become
vacant by the death of Archbishop Wood, and on 8 June, 1884, Archbishop Ryan
was appointed to succeed him. During his reign in Philadelphia the Church grew rapidly, as can
be seen by the following table:
- Churches — 127 in 1884; 297 in 1911
- Priests — 260 in 1884; 582 in 1911
- Nuns — 1020 in 1884; 2565 in 1911
- Schools — 59 in 1884; 141 in 1911
- Pupils — 22,000 in 1884; 66,612 in 1911
- Orphans supported — 998 in 1884; 3,230 in 1911
- Catholic population — 300,000 in 1884; 525,000 in 1911
During that time also the Roman Catholic High
School for Boys, which was endowed by Mr. Thomas Cahill, was built, and put in
operation; high school centres for girls taught by
the different communities were established; a new central high school for girls
was partly endowed and begun; St. Francis' Industrial School for Boys was
endowed and successfully operated, the Philadelphia Protectory
for Boys was erected: it has since been enlarged, at a cost of over half a
million dollars and with capacity for six hundred; St. Joseph's Home for
Working Boys was founded; a new foundling asylum and maternity hospital was
built; a new St. Vincent's Home for younger orphan children was purchased with
the archbishop's Golden Jubilee Fund of $200,000; a third Home for the Aged was
erected; a Memorial Library Building, dedicated to the Archbishop, was begun at
St. Charles' Seminary, Overbrook; and the three Catholic hospitals of the city
doubled their capacity. The extent of the archbishop's zeal is
shown by his care for the emigrants who came into the diocese during his time.
In 1884 there were very few foreign churches in the diocese; now there are 20
for the Italians, 23 for the Poles, 18 for the Greeks, 15 for the Slovacs, 6 for the Lithuanians, and several for other
nationalities.
The archbishop took special
interest in the Indians and negroes. He established
two congregations for the latter in Philadelphia,
and invited the Holy Ghost Fathers to build their college and mother-house at Cornwells, near the city. Under his direction Mother
Katharine Drexel founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, who devote
themselves entirely to the Indians and negroes, with
their mother-house, novitiate and orphan asylum at Cornwells
and several convents and schools in the West and South. Another proof of this
interest is found in the archbishop's
attendance at the Lake
Mohonk
conferences, and at the meetings of the U. S. Indian Commission, to which he
had been appointed by President Roosevelt. By his prudence and tact he removed
much prejudice against the Church, and obtained special privileges for Catholics
in public institutions. His great reputation as an orator brought him
invitations to speak, not only at the most important ecclesiastical functions,
but also on secular occasions. In addition to his monthly sermons, in St. Louis on the first Sunday, and in Philadelphia on the second, he preached
frequently at the laying of corner-stones, at the consecration of bishops, and
churches, and at funerals. Some of the more remarkable instances were the
dedication of St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, the conferring of the pallium
on Archbishop Corrigan, and his funeral sermon; the consecration and funeral of
Archbishop Hennessy of Dubuque, and the funeral of Archbishop Kenrick of St. Louis. He addressed the St. Louis
Legislature twice; opened the St. Louis
University on two occasions; spoke
before the Committee of the United States Senate on Indian affairs; opened the
Republican National Convention in Philadelphia
in 1900, and was the principal speaker at the McKinley Memorial service in Philadelphia, after the
president's assassination.
He lectured on various occasions, the most
important of his lectures probably being on "What Catholics do not
believe", St. Louis, 1877, and on
"Agnosticism", Philadelphia,
1894. He received the degree of Doctor of Laws from the University
of St. Louis and from the University of Pennsylvania. Under his guidance the
Catholic "Standard and Times" of Philadelphia, his official organ,
obtained a reputation unexcelled in Catholic journalism; and under his
editorial direction the "American Catholic Quarterly Review"
preserved and extended the reputation which it had already made as a leading
exponent of Catholic thought. The celebrations of the Silver Jubilee of the archbishop in the
episcopacy, 1897, and of his Golden Jubilee in the priesthood, 1903, proved the
esteem in which he was held by the whole community, irrespective of creed,
because the whole city rejoiced; while his death showed how universally he was
loved, for the whole city wept. The archbishop was best known
as an orator and a wit. He was adorned most by strong faith and piety, by great
meekness and humility, and by a prudence that was far-reaching and admirable.
He has left no published works except some lectures. These are: "Modern
Religious Skepticism"; "What Catholics do not Believe";
"Christian Civilization", and
"Agnosticism": all are published by the Catholic Truth Society of San
Francisco as well as by similar organizations in this country and London. There is a fifth
lecture on "Religion and the Fine Arts".
Archbishop Edmond Francis Prendergast
The
Most Reverend Edmond
Francis Prendergast
(1843-February
26, 1918)
In 1918, a new and glorious precedent occurred: the servitor of the
Archbishops of Philadelphia himself rose to the leadership of the third largest
American See: Edmond Francis Prendergast was the first Auxiliary Bishop of
Philadelphia and Vicar-General to Archbishop Ryan, Rector of St. Malachy's
Church, a graduate of Saint Charles Borromeo
Seminary, a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. A
native son...almost.
Edmond Prendergast was
born in Ireland
in 1843. He was born into a family of ecclesiastics, which eventually lead him
to the United States and Philadelphia. He was one
of the first priests to be ordained in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul,
and on that cold November day in that new Cathedral, it would've been hard for
him to imagine that almost half a century later the cathedra (throne) that he
was kneeling in front of for the imposition of hands by Bishop Wood would be
his.
Then, as has been stated
before, the Archdiocese still encompassed most of the state. So over it's vast terrain he served, until in 1874 the 31 year-old
Father Prendergast was called back to his second home, Philadelphia, and St. Malachy's.
In this position, he was not far from the chancery and Cathedral (the Seminary
moved from behind the Cathedral to Overbrook in 1871). Here, he was used as
valued counsel to Bishop Wood, who shortly after became the first Metropolitan
Archbishop of the Philadelphia
Province, and
Archbishop Ryan.
In 1897, he was
consecrated Titular Bishop of Scillio and Auxiliary
to Archbishop Ryan (he was made Vicar General the year before).
When he was appointed
Auxiliary Bishop, Archbishop Ryan did not want Bishop Prendergast to leave his
work at Saint Malachy's. Therefore, he stayed as
Rector. To this day, the active Auxiliary Bishops of Philadelphia who do not
possess chancery offices are made pastors of parishes. (As of this publication,
Bishop Louis DeSimone is Pastor of Saint Monica's
Church in South Philadelphia; and Bishop Robert Maginnis
is Pastor of St. Colman Church in Ardmore (a
suburb of Philadelphia).
As Archbishop Ryan's
health failed, his auxiliary took up more and more administrative duties and,
upon his death, was elected Administrator in the period of the Sede Vacante ad nunctum Sanctae Sedis (Vacant See). Then, the hopes and prayers of the
people were answered with his appointment by Saint Pius X to the see that he
already had administration over for three months.
Due to his elevation and
old age (he was 68 upon his installation), he needed a
successor to himself as Auxiliary Bishop. The choice was the Reverend John
Joseph McCort, the Rector of Our Mother of Sorrows
Church in Philadelphia,
a former professor at the Seminary and one who was, in almost all ways, like
his Archbishop: paternalistic, conservative, pastoral. He became Titular Bishop
of Azotus with his consecration in mid-1912. (Before
Archbishop Ryan's death, he served with then-Bishop Prendergast as Vicar
General).
The Archdiocese continued
to grow by leaps and bounds. And, in 1915, upon Archbishop Prendergast's
Golden Sacerdotal Jubilee, the Cathedral was renovated and formally dedicated
finally. This was the peak
of Archbishop Prendergast's time as Archbishop, but afterward it fell steeply
downhill. Over the next two years, in the face of war and adversity, he became
gravely ill and died on February 26, 1918. Bishop McCort
had many admirers who wanted to see him succeed to the See and continue the
good works of Ryan and Prendergast. But another former Seminary professor was
called home, one who revolutionized the whole Archdiocesan system.
Exerpted from The
Bishops of Philadelphia, by Rocco Palmo, (Used with Permission)
Source: http://www.prendie.com/history.htm
Source: http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bpreef.html
Monsignor John J. Bonner
History
Rt. Reverend Monsignor John J. Bonner,
D.D., L.L.D., son of Hugh A. and Susan Fleming Bonner, was born in Philadelphia, November 2,
1890. He attended St. Agatha’s School for two years and Our Mother of
Sorrows School on Lancaster Avenue
for six years. After graduating from Roman Catholic High School in 1908,
he entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and later
studied at the North American
College in Rome. He was ordained in the Basilica
of St. John Lateran on June 2, 1917 by Cardinal Pompilii.
His first appointment was as assistant
rector of St. Bridget’s Church in Philadelphia.
After service as an Army chaplain in World War I, he was named assistant
principal of Roman Catholic High School, April 21, 1919. In 1923 he was
transferred to Easton
as an assistant rector of St. Bernard’s Church. In 1924 he was again
appointed assistant rector at St. Bridget’s Church. He was named dean of Immaculata
College until August
1926, when he was appointed Diocesan Superintendent of Schools.
Monsignor Bonner, who was named a Domestic
Prelate in 1930 by Pope Pius XI, was a member of many Catholic educational
associations. He was president of the Catholic Association of
Pennsylvania and treasurer of the National Catholic Education Association.
He won wide recognition as a teacher, orator, and educator and took deep
interest in retreats for laymen. In 1929, he was awarded an honorary
degree of Doctor of Law by Villanova College, and a few years later was
similarly honored by St. Joseph’s
College.
According to the American Catholic
Historical Society, “Monsignor Bonner was the best-known Catholic educator in
the country.” Among his achievements in his nineteen-year tenure as
superintendent were the increase in the number of tuition-free diocesan high
schools from three to twelve and the founding of the Philadelphia Catholic
League.
On November 27, 1945, Monsignor Bonner died
of a heart attack in his office at John W. Hallahan
Catholic Girls’ High School. In 1953, to meet the increasing demand for a
Catholic high school in the expanding western suburbs, the Archdiocese of
Philadelphia converted the vacated St. Vincent’s Orphanage into a school for boys
under the title Archbishop
Prendergast High
School. Three years later a new building
was erected on the same tract and named Monsignor Bonner
High School in memory of
Rev. John J. Bonner, the former diocesan superintendent of schools.
Bonner then became a school for boys, and Prendergast was designated as a school
for girls.
Both schools, although independent and
under separate administration, share the same spacious campus. There is
some exchange of students between the two schools for certain classes.
Source: http://www.bonnerhigh.com/bonner.aspx?pgID=880
Bishop Phillip Richard McDevitt
Bishop of Harrisburg
Source: http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmcdevittp.html
Archbishop Thomas Francis Kennedy
Titular See: (Rector/North American College)
Source: http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bkennedyt.html
Dennis Joseph Cardinal
Dougherty
1865-1951
8/16/1865
Born in Homesville, Girardville, Pennsylvania
the sixth of ten children of Patrick (b.1835) and Bridget Henry both of County Mayo, Ireland
8/1865
Baptized at St. Joseph Church Ashland,
PA by Rev. Michael A. Sheridan
Confirmed by Archbishop James F. Wood, D.D.
1879
St. Mary’s College Montreal, Canada
1881
St. Charles Seminary Overbrook,
PA
1885-1890
Ordained a Priest by Cardinal Ludico Parocchi in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, Rome
6/1/1890
First Mass, Altar of the Chair in St. Peters, Rome
1890-1903
Professor of Latin, English, History and Theology
St. Charles Seminary Overbrook, PA
6/14/1903
Consecrated Bishop by Cardinal Satolli in the chapel
of St. Paul of
the Cross in SS. John and Paul Rome
1903-1908
Bishop of Nueva Segovia, Philippine Islands
1908-1915
Bishop of Jaro, Philippine Islands
5/31/1915
25th Anniversary of Priestly Ordination
1915-1918
Bishop of Buffalo, New York
4/30/1918
Appointed Archbishop of Philadelphia,
PA
7/10/1918
Installed as Archbishop of Philadelphia,
PA
5/6/1919
Invested with the Pallium by Archbishop John Bonzano, Apostolic Delegate to the United States
3/7/1921
Created Cardinal Priest by Pope Benedict XV
2/6/1922
Attended Coronation of Pius XI – missed conclave due to distance and timing.
One of the first acts of the new Pope was to lengthen the time between the
death of a Pope and the conclave so that American Cardinals could attend and
vote in the conclave.
6/14/1928
25th Anniversary of the Episcopal Consecration
1/1/1937
Papal Legate to the 33rd International Eucharistic Congress in
Manila, Philippine Islands
3/2/1939
Participated in conclave which elected Pope Pius XII
5/31/1940
50th Anniversary of Priestly Ordination
3/7/1946
25th Anniversary of being created a Cardinal
6/6/1949
Papal Legate to the National Eucharistic Congress in St. Paul, Minnesota
6/21/1948
Delivered the Invocation at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia’s Convention
Hall
7/12/1948
Delivered the Invocation at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia’s Convention
Hall
Fall
1950
Holy Year pilgrimage to Rome
5/31/1951
Death of Cardinal Dougherty on the 61st Anniversary of his
Ordination to the Priesthood
During
his years as the Archbishop of Philadelphia, Cardinal Dougherty earned the
title, "God's Bricklayer." Throughout the ten
county archdiocese he founded or built 110 parishes,
70 churches, 122 grammar schools, three colleges, nine diocesan high schools,
fourteen academies, seven hospitals, seven orphanages, seven homes for the
aged, and several institutions for various social services.
At the time of his death, Dennis Joseph Dougherty
was 85 years old, a Priest for 61 years, Bishop for 48 years, Archbishop of
Philadelphia for 33 years and a Cardinal for 30 years.
|
Date
|
Age
|
Event
|
Title
|
|
16 Aug 1865
|
|
Born
|
Honesville, PA
|
|
31 May 1890
|
24.8
|
Ordained Priest
|
Priest of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, USA
|
|
10 Jun 1903
|
37.8
|
Appointed
|
Bishop of Nueva Segovia,
Philippines
|
|
14 Jun 1903
|
37.8
|
Ordained Bishop
|
Bishop of Nueva Segovia,
Philippines
|
|
19 Apr 1908
|
42.7
|
Appointed
|
Bishop of Jaro, Philippines
|
|
21 Jun 1908
|
42.8
|
Installed
|
Bishop of Jaro, Philippines
|
|
6 Dec 1915
|
50.3
|
Appointed
|
Bishop of Buffalo, New York, USA
|
|
9 Dec 1915
|
50.3
|
Installed
|
Bishop of Buffalo, New York, USA
|
|
1 May 1918
|
52.7
|
Appointed
|
Archbishop of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, USA
|
|
10 Jul 1918
|
52.9
|
Installed
|
Archbishop of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, USA
|
|
7 Mar 1921
|
55.6
|
Elevated to Cardinal
|
|
|
7 Mar 1921
|
55.6
|
Appointed
|
Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Nereo ed Achilleo
|
|
31 May 1951
|
85.8
|
Died
|
Archbishop of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, USA
|
Source: http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bdoudj.html
John Francis Cardinal O’Hara, C.S.C
|
Bishop O’Hara was one of eight children. He was born in 1888 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. When his father was named American Consul
to Uruguay, young John
went with him to Montevideo. While only seventeen, he became a private
secretary to the U.S. Minister in that republic. At eighteen, he was making market surveys
for the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Service. Even while thus working, the future Bishop
found time to attend the Jesuit University in Montevideo. Upon his return to the States, John Francis
went to the University
of Notre Dame and was
graduated in 1911. Having graduated,
he entered the seminary of the Holy Cross Fathers and after five years of
intensive study of the Sacred Sciences, was ordained to the Holy Priesthood
in 1916.
|
|
One year
later, he returned to Notre Dame.
There, he held such posts as Instructor of Religion, Dean of the College of Commerce and Vice-President. In 1934, he was elected President and served
in that capacity until 1939 when he was consecrated bishop. He served as Bishop of Buffalo from 1945 to 1952. His long years as an educator at one of
the greatest universities in the country prepared him to meet the pressing
problems of Catholic education. His
dream and greatest accomplishment was to establish a Diocesan
Catholic High
School system, opening 23 schools over time in the Diocese
of Buffalo. Forty years ago, his mission was
memorialized in a special way with the opening of Cardinal O'Hara High School
In 1952 he was named Archbishop of Philadelphia and in
1958 was named Cardinal by Pope John XXIII.
John Francis O'Hara died in 1960 and is buried on the campus of Notre Dame University.
|
Source: http://www.cardinalohara.com/cohs.htm
|
Date
|
Age
|
Event
|
Title
|
|
1 Aug 1888
|
|
Born
|
Ann Arbor,
MI
|
|
9 Sep 1916
|
28.1
|
Ordained Priest
|
Priest of Congregation of
Holy Cross
|
|
11 Dec 1939
|
51.4
|
Appointed
|
Bishop of Military, USA
|
|
11 Dec 1939
|
51.4
|
Appointed
|
Titular Bishop of Mylasa
|
|
15 Jan 1940
|
51.5
|
Ordained Bishop
|
Titular Bishop of Mylasa
|
|
10 Mar 1945
|
56.6
|
Appointed
|
Bishop of Buffalo, New York, USA
|
|
8 May 1945
|
56.8
|
Installed
|
Bishop of Buffalo, New York, USA
|
|
23 Nov 1951
|
63.3
|
Appointed
|
Archbishop of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, USA
|
|
15 Dec 1958
|
70.4
|
Elevated to Cardinal
|
|
|
15 Dec 1958
|
70.4
|
Appointed
|
Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Andrea e
Gregorio al Monte Celio
|
|
28 Aug 1960
|
72.1
|
Died
|
Archbishop of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, USA
|
Source: http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/boharaj.html
Olde
St. Augustine Church
St. Augustine’s
Church and Villanova University
|
|
Reverend
Michael Hurley, O.S.A., D.D.
Commissary General of the American Augustinians, 1820-1837, and
second pastor of Saint Augustine's Church, Philadelphia,
1820-1837. Portrait painted in 1813 by Thomas Sully
|
.
|
|
This
photograph was taken from a fine pastel, apparently unsigned, of late
eighteenth century origin of Reverend Matthew Carr, O.S.A., S.T.B. Father
Carr was founder of the Augustinian Province in the United States in 1796,
first pastor of Saint Augustine's Church in Philadelphia from 1796 to 1820,
and first Commissary General from 1796 to 1820.
|
|
Old Saint Augustine's Church
Old Saint Augustine's Church opened for divine worship on 7 June 1801
and stood at Fourth and Vine Streets in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Nicholas Fitz
Maurice Fagan designed the structure.
Saint Augustine's Church at Fourth and Vine
streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was burned during a display
of anti-Catholicism on 8 May 1844. The Augustinians of Villanova, fearing a
know-nothing onslaught against the college, did sentry duty on the grounds
while students vacated the dormitories to sleep off the campus.
Interior of Olde Saint Augustine's Church restored
for its Bicentennial. Founded in 1796 at 4th and Vine Streets in Philadelphia, suffered
extensive damage during a storm in December 1992. The Church lost its steeple
and a portion of its roof resulting in severe water damage to its decorative
plasterwork and paintings.
(postcard, Brawer & Hauptman, Architects. 20 North 3rd Street.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106).
|
|
|
|
Reverend John P.
O'Dwyer, O.S.A., S.T.L. (1816-1850)
First and Third
President of Villanova
College
1843-1847 and
1848-1850
Father John Possidius
O'Dwyer was born in Callan,
County Kilkenny,
Ireland, in
1816. His early education in Kilkenny led to his
entrance into the Augustinian novitiate at Grantstown,
Wexford, in 1835. After his profession of vows in 1836 he was sent to Italy
for higher studies.
|
|
|
William Harnett, O.S.A. (1822-1875)
Second, Fourth and
Sixth President of Villanova
College
1847-1848 and
1850-1851 and 1855-1857
Father William Harnett was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
in 1822. He was the first American-born to enter the Augustinian Order in the
Province of Saint Thomas of Villanova. He entered the novitiate and continued
his studies in Italy,
where at Genazzano his Novice Master was Blessed
Stephen Bellesini. He returned to the United States in 1843 and taught Latin and
Greek at Villanova
College. He was
ordained to the priesthood in 1844 by Bishop Francis Patrick Kendrick of Philadelphia.
Father Harnett was President of Villanova
College from 1847 to 1848, 1850 to 1851 and 1855 to 1857. He also served at Saint Augustine's in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, and at Saint Mary's, in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
He died in Lawrence, Massachusetts on 28 March 1875, at the age
of 55. He is buried at Saint Mary's Cemetery in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Source: Necrology of the
Augustinian Provinces of the United
States of America
(Revised, May 2000).
|
|
Reverend
Patrick E. Moriarty, O.S.A., D.D. (1805-1875)
Fifth President of Villanova College
1851-1855
Father
Moriarty was President of Villanova College, 1851-1855, and was a renowned
Catholic orator. It was Moriarty, who
with Reverend Thomas Kyle, O.S.A., made the offer to buy the Belle-Air estate
on 13 October 1841. (Photograph oil
on canvas by Max Soltmann based on an earlier
lithograph by Henry McKeon).
Father Patrick Eugene Moriarty was born in Ireland
in 1805. He studied there at Carlow
College and later in Italy, where he was ordained in Rome in 1828.
Father Moriarty spent a short time in Ireland
following ordination, after which he went to the newly established Vicariate
of Madras, India. There he served as Chaplain to the General Hospital
Garrison at Fort St. George. Between 1832 and 1834, Father Moriarty served as
a military chaplain in Lisbon,
Portugal.
|
|
Presidents of Villanova
Other Presidents with Irish Roots:
Ambrose Augustine Mullen, O.S.A. (1827-1876) Seventh President of Villanova College 1865-1869
Patrick Augustine
Stanton, O.S.A. (1826-1891)
Eighth President of Villanova College 1869-1872
Father Patrick
Stanton was born in Castlebar,County Mayo, Ireland, in 1826 and was a nephew
of
Reverend Thomas A.
Kyle, O.S.A.
Thomas Galberry, O.S.A.
(1833-1878) Ninth President of Villanova College 1872-1876
Bishop Thomas Galberry was born in County
Kildare, Ireland,
in 1833. He entered the Augustinian novitiate at Villanova, Pennsylvania.
His ordination to the priesthood by Bishop John Neumann of Philadelphia took place in 1856.
John Joseph Fedigan, O.S.A. (1842-1908) Eleventh President of
Villanova College 1878-1880
Father John Joseph Fedigan was born in Rathbran, Ireland on 27 April 1842. He
studied at Saint Mary's College in Wilmington, Delaware, before entering the Augustinian novitiate at Ghent, Belgium.
He was ordained to the priesthood on 24 October 1868 by Bishop Shanahan in the
Philadelphia Cathedral.
Joseph A. Coleman,
O.S.A. (1842-1902) Twelfth President of Villanova College 1880-1886
Rev. Joseph A. Coleman, O.S.A., was a native of Ireland. He did
his early studies with the Augustinian Fathers in his native land, completing
his education for the priesthood at Ghent,
Belgium. Very
Rev. John J. Fedigan, O.S.A., was his classmate.
After his ordination he returned to Ireland
and was for a time prior at St. Augustine's and St. John's churches, Dublin.
In 1875 he came to America
and was engaged in mission work for two years, and then returned to his native
land. He came back to America
and became affiliated with the American province. At St.
Augustine's parish, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, where he served for
about three years, he reorganized the Sacred Heart Society, succeeding so well
that its membership under his direction approached nearly one thousand
Francis Michael Sheeran, O.S.A.
(1840-1912) Thirteenth President
of Villanova College 1886-1890
Father Francis Michael Sheeran was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1840. He received his
high school education in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, and came to
Villanova in 1857. In 1858, with Father Thomas Cooke Middleton, he entered the
Augustinian novitiate at Tolentine,
Italy, and was ordained to
the priesthood in Rome,
in 1863.
Christopher Augustine McEvoy,
O.S.A.(1840-1914) Fourteenth President 1890-1894
Father Christopher McEvoy was born in Queens County, Ireland, in 1840. Before coming to Villanova College
in 1866, he attended Notre Dame University and Niagara College.
In 1868 he entered the novitiate at Villanova,
Pennsylvania, and was ordained to
the priesthood by Bishop James F. Wood in 1871.
Francis J. McShane, O.S.A.
(1846-1932) Fifteenth President 1894-1895
Father Francis McShane was born in Aughnocloy, Ireland, in 1846. When he first
came to the United States,
he lived with the Brothers of the Holy Cross in South Bend, Indiana.
In 1868, he entered the Augustinian novitiate at Villanova, Pennsylvania,
and was ordained a priest by Bishop James F. Wood in 1872.
Many of the Presidents that followed at Villanova had Irish
roots.
Diocese
of Harrisburg
Diocesan History of
Harrisburg
A
Brief History of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Archdiocese
of Philadelphia
Diocese
of Scranton
Bishop John Hughes of New York
Fourth bishop and first Archbishop of New York,
born at Annaloghan, Co. Tyrone,
Ireland, 24 June, 1797 of
Patrick Hughes and Margaret McKenna: died in New York, 3 January, 1864. His father, a
farmer of limited means, emigrated to the United States in 1816, and settled in Chambersberg,
Pa.
Ordained to the priesthood
15 October, 1826, by Bishop Conwell, in St. Joseph's Church, Philadelphia, he laboured first at St. Augustine's, Philadelphia, later at
Bedford, Pa., finally returning to Philadelphia to become pastor of St.
Joseph's, and afterwards of St. Mary's whose trustees were in open revolt
against the bishop, and were subdued by Father Hughes only when he built St.
Joseph's church, 1832, then considered one of the finest in the country.
Previous to this, in 1829, he founded St.
John's Orphan Asylum.
His name was mentioned for
the vacant see of Cincinnati
and for the Coadjutorship of Philadelphia. On 7 Jan,
1838, however, Father Hughes was consecrated Bishop of Basileopolis
and Coadjutor of New York, by Bishop Dubois, in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Mott Street, New
York. In 1839 he became administrator-Apostolic of New York, and on the
death of Bishop Dubois succeeded to the vacant see, 20 Dec. 1842. He was raised
to the dignity of first Archbishop
of New York, 19 July, 1850, receiving the pallium
personally from Pius IX
at Rome, 3
April 1851.
Source: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07516a.htm
Bishop Richard Phelan
Source: http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bphelan.html
Bishop John Tuigg
|
Date
|
Age
|
Event
|
Title
|
|
19 Feb 1821
|
|
Born
|
Donoughmore, Ireland
|
|
14 May 1850
|
29.2
|
Ordained Priest
|
Priest of Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA
|
|
16 Jan 1876
|
54.9
|
Appointed
|
Bishop of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
|
|
19 Mar 1876
|
55.1
|
Ordained Bishop
|
Bishop of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
|
|
1877
|
55.9
|
Secondarily Appointed
|
Apostolic Administrator of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA
|
|
7 Dec 1889
|
68.8
|
Died
|
Bishop of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
|
Bishop John Edmund Fitzmaurice †
Bishop of Erie
|
Date
|
Age
|
Event
|
Title
|
|
8 Jan 1839
|
|
Born
|
Moyvane, Newtownsandes,
Ireland
|
|
21 Dec 1862
|
24.0
|
Ordained Priest
|
Priest of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, USA
|
|
14 Dec 1897
|
58.9
|
Appointed
|
Coadjutor Bishop of Erie, Pennsylvania, USA
|
|
14 Dec 1897
|
58.9
|
Appointed
|
Titular Bishop of Amisus
|
|
24 Feb 1898
|
59.1
|
Ordained Bishop
|
Titular Bishop of Amisus
|
|
15 Sep 1899
|
60.7
|
Succeeded
|
Bishop of Erie, Pennsylvania, USA
|
|
18 Jun 1920
|
81.4
|
Died
|
Bishop of Erie, Pennsylvania, USA
|
Source: http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bfitzj.html
Research Guide for Catholic Resources
(web sites)
Philadelphia Catholic League
/File0352.jpg)
/File0389.jpg)
/File0353.jpg)
/File0395.jpg)
/File0399.jpg)
/File0396.jpg)