John Ireland (Archbishop)

Archbishop John Ireland

John Ireland (* 11. September 1838 in Burnchurch, County Kilkenny , † 25. September 1918 ) was a from Ireland originating Roman Catholic clergyman in the United States . From 1884 he was bishop , from 1888 archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis .

Life

Ireland's family left Ireland during the Great Famine and settled in Saint Paul, Minnesota . John Ireland was ordained a priest on December 21, 1861 . Until 1863 he was a chaplain in the American Civil War . In 1867 he became a pastor at what was then the cathedral church of Saint Paul.

On February 12, 1875, Pope Pius IX appointed him . the titular bishop of Maronea and Apostolic Vicar of Nebraska . On July 28 of the same year he was appointed coadjutor bishop of Saint Paul . He received his episcopal consecration from the Bishop of Saint Paul, Thomas Langdon Grace OP , on December 21, 1875. Co- consecrators were the Bishop of La Crosse , Michael Heiss , and the Vicar Apostolic of North Minnesota , Rupert Seidenbusch OSB .

With the resignation of his predecessor Thomas Langdon Grace on August 12, 1884, he succeeded him as Bishop of Saint Paul. With the elevation of Saint Paul to the archbishopric in 1888, he became archbishop.

John Ireland was a charismatic figure, decidedly ecclesiastical and decidedly patriotic . He energetically represented the conviction that the Catholic Church in the USA can and must "Americanize" itself. It should no longer align itself with the church traditions of the countries of origin of the Catholic immigrants, but should instead engage with the social and cultural peculiarities of the USA. He emphasized that - contrary to what some Protestants claim - there is by no means a contradiction between the hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church and the democratic state system of his country. Within the church, his "Americanism" meant a. a. that he endeavored to abolish the widespread use of the non-English mother tongues of the Catholics (in his diocese in particular German) in church services.

He worked well beyond the boundaries of his diocese in the American church and society. He systematically promoted the immigration of Catholic Irish from the urban slums and their equipping with farmland. During his tenure, 26 new parishes were created and five new bishoprics were established from the diocese of Saint Paul. Numerous Catholic schools, several colleges and the St. Thomas University in Saint Paul arose through his initiative. He was one of the four bishops on the founding committee when the Catholic University of America was established in Washington . Visible signs of the growing Catholicism in his diocese are the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Saint Paul and the Marienbasilika in Minneapolis , whose construction he suggested and whose completion he was able to experience.

In 1917 he fell seriously ill. He died on September 25, 1918, and the funeral ceremonies in September 1918 were attended by a large crowd.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gerald DeMaio: Ireland, Archbishop John . In: Paul A. Djupe, Laura R. Olson (Eds.): Encyclopedia of American Religion and Politics . Facts on File, New York 2003. ISBN 0-8160-4582-8 , pp. 217f.
2. ^ Colman Barry: Upon these rocks. Catholics in the Bahamas . St. John's Abbey Press, Collegeville 1973. ISBN 0-8146-0812-4 . P. 104.
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Most Reverend John Ireland ( Memento from February 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

Commons : John Ireland (Archbishop)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Most Reverend John Ireland (Archdiocese website)
• Entry for John Ireland on catholic-hierarchy.org

predecessor	Office	successor
Thomas Langdon Grace	Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis 1884 - 1918	Austin Dowling