John Hennessy (bishop)

For other people named John Hennessy, seeJohn Hennessey.

Most Reverend John Hennessy, DD
Archbishop of Dubuque
Church	Catholic Church
Appointed	April 24, 1866
Term ended	March 4, 1900
Predecessor	Clement Smyth
Successor	John Joseph Keane
Orders
Ordination	November 1, 1850
Consecration	September 30, 1866 byPeter Richard Kenrick
Personal details
Born	(1825-08-20)August 20, 1825 Bulgaden,County Limerick,United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Died	March 4, 1900(1900-03-04)(aged 74) Dubuque, Iowa,USA
Previous post(s)	Bishop of Dubuque
Motto	Messis Multa (Many Harvests)

Ordination history of John Hennessy
History Episcopal consecration Consecrated by Peter Richard Kenrick(St. Louis) Date September 30, 1866
Episcopal succession Bishops consecrated by John Hennessy as principal consecrator Thomas Mathias Lenihan February 24, 1897

John Hennessy(August 20, 1825 – March 4, 1900) was a 19th-centuryIrish-bornprelateof theRoman Catholic Churchwho served asbishopandarchbishopin theUnited States.He served as bishop and then the first archbishop of theArchdiocese of Dubuque,Iowa,from 1866 to 1900.

Biography

Early life and education

John Hennessy was born August 20, 1825, in Bulgaden,County Limerick,Ireland.He was the oldest of twelve children born to William and Mary (Meaney) Hennessy.He studied for the priesthood initially atAll Hallows College,Dublin then at St. Vincent's Seminary inCape Girardeau, Missouri,and Carondelet Seminary near St. Louis.

Ordination and ministry

He was ordained a priest for theArchdiocese of Saint Louison November 1, 1850. Father Hennessy was assigned to parish work inNew Madrid, Missouri,and then St. Peter's in Gravois. He then served as a seminary professor and then president at Carondelet, and in 1858 he was sent to theHoly Seeas a representative of Archbishop Kenrick. From 1860 to 1866 he was a pastor ofSt. Joseph's ChurchinSt. Joseph, Missouri.

Bishop and Archbishop of Dubuque, Iowa

On April 24, 1866,Pope Pius IXappointed Hennessy as the third bishop of Dubuque. He was consecrated and installed bishop inSt. Raphael's Cathedralon September 30, 1866, by ArchbishopPeter Richard Kenrickof Saint Louis. The principal co-consecrators were BishopsJohn Martin Henniof Milwaukee andJames Dugganof Chicago.

Bishop Hennessy attended theFirst Vatican Councilin Rome from 1869 to 1870. He also took a prominent role in theThird Plenary Council of Baltimorein 1884.

In 1878, at his suggestion, the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis of the Holy Family relocated fromIowa Cityto Dubuque to staff a German Catholic Orphan Asylum.

When Hennessy became bishop, the territory of the diocese encompassed the entire state ofIowa.He became convinced, as had BishopSmythbefore him, that the diocese should be divided in two. Archbishop Kenrick and the other bishops of the province advocated splitting Iowa into two with a diocese in the east (Dubuque) and one in the west (Council Bluffs). Others, including the Revs.J.A.M. Pelamourguesand Andrew Trevis, envisioned a newSeewithDavenportas its headquarters. On May 8, 1881, PopeLeo XIIIestablished the newDiocese of Davenport.Davenport was chosen because of the income the new bishop would receive from the commercial properties owned by the church on Church Square (St. Anthony's Church) in Davenport.The Dubuque Diocese now covered roughly the northern half of Iowa.

An advocate of Catholic education, Hennessy had schools and convents established in all of the large cities in Iowa. He founded St. Joseph's College (nowLoras College) in Dubuque on September 8, 1873.Some Catholics in the diocese opposed the expansion of Catholic schools for economic reasons, and because they felt it was an attack on public school education.

During his tenure as bishop and archbishop, Hennessy oversaw the expansion of the diocese even though this was a period ofanti-Catholicsentiments in Dubuque and across the United States. When he arrived in Dubuque, there were 27 priests, 30 churches, two schools and seven sisters. By 1891 there were 203 priests, 319 churches, 615 sisters, and over 135 parochial schools with 16,257 students.This was after the diocese had lost almost half of its territory ten years before.

On June 15, 1893, Pope Leo XIII elevated the Diocese of Dubuque to the status of an archdiocese, and Bishop Hennessy became the first archbishop of Dubuque. The Ecclesial Province of Dubuque included the dioceses of Davenport,Omaha,WichitaandSioux Falls.

Archbishop Hennessy died in Dubuque on March 4, 1900. He was a man of some means for his time, as he left an estate of $700,000. It was divided among several Catholic charities.

In the last years of his life, Hennessy requested that a mortuary chapel be built in St. Raphael's Cathedral. This new chapel was built in the basement of the cathedral and completed two years after his death. The remains of BishopsMathias Loras,Clement Smyth,and Hennessy were brought to the cathedral and buried in this new chapel.

Legacy

Archbishop Hennessy is one of the more prominent figures in the history of the archdiocese, as the latter half of the 19th century was a period of growth for the archdiocese, and as he also served as the leader of the archdiocese for over 30 years.Loras Collegehonored Hennessy by naming one of its buildings after him.

A stained glass window in St. Joseph Church inSioux City, Iowa,contains a portrait of Archbishop Hennessy. His episcopal coat of arms is in the stained glass window above the east side entrance toSt. Mary's ChurchinIowa City, Iowa,which he dedicated in 1869.

See also

• Catholic Church in the United States
• Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
• List of the Catholic bishops of the United States
• Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops

External links

• Bishops Archbishops of Dubuque
• John HennessyatFind a Grave
• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque