Charles Edward McDonnell (February 1, 1854 – August 8, 1921) was an American
prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...
of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. He served as
Bishop of Brooklyn from 1892 until his death in 1921.
Biography
Charles McDonnell was born in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
to Charles and Eleanor (née Preston) McDonnell. His father was a printer.
[Wilkinson, Ed. "B'klyn's Second Bishop Kept Building Diocese"]
''The Tablet'', August 10, 2016. After attending
De La Salle Institute
De La Salle Institute is a private, Catholic, coeducational high school run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was founded by Brother Adjutor o ...
, he entered
St. Francis Xavier College in 1868. He was sent to
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
by Cardinal
John McCloskey
John McCloskey (March 10, 1810 – October 10, 1885) was an Catholic Church in the United States, American Catholic prelate who served as the first American-born Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, Archbishop of New York from 1864 until his ...
in 1872 to further his studies at the
Pontifical North American College
The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Prie ...
.
While in Rome, he was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
to the
priesthood on May 19, 1878. He earned his
Doctor of Divinity
A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...
degree shortly afterwards.
[
Following his return to New York in the fall of 1878, he was named a ]curate
A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...
St. Mary's Church St. Mary's Church, St. Mary the Virgin's Church, St. Mary Church, Saint Mary Church, or other variations on the name, is a commonly used name for specific churches of various Christian denominations.
Notable uses of the term may refer to:
Albania
...
on Grand Street until 1879, when he was transferred to St. Stephen's Church under Rev. Edward McGlynn, and afterwards to St. Patrick's Cathedral, where he served as master of ceremonies from 1879 to 1884. He became private secretary to Cardinal McCloskey in 1884, and remained in that position under McCloskey's successor, Michael Corrigan
Michael Augustine Corrigan (August 13, 1839May 5, 1902) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the third archbishop of New York from 1885 to 1902.
Early life
Michael Augustine Corrigan was born August 13, 1839, in N ...
, who also named him chancellor
Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
of the Archdiocese of New York
The Archdiocese of New York () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New York (state), State of New York. It encompasses the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York ...
in 1889.[ In 1890 he was made Private Chamberlain by ]Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...
.episcopal
Episcopal may refer to:
*Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church
*Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese
*Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name
** Episcopal Church (United States ...
consecration
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
on the following April 25 from Archbishop Michael Corrigan at St. Patrick's Cathedral. He was installed at St. James's Pro-Cathedral, Brooklyn, New York on May 2, 1892.Confirmation
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...
to 600 individuals on the following May 18 at Church of the Sacred Heart.[
During his 29-year-long tenure, the number of Catholics in the diocese increased from 250,000 in 1891 to 900,000 in 1921.]parishes
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
and schools
A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...
for new immigrant groups settling in the diocese, many from Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
, as well as for Hispanics
The term Hispanic () are people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an ethnic or meta-ethnic term.
The term commonly appli ...
and African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
s. Bishop McDonnell adopted the policy of securing members of some order for each of the races and languages in his jurisdiction. He invited several religious institute
In the Catholic Church, a religious institute is "a society in which members, according to proper law, pronounce public religious vows, vows, either perpetual or temporary which are to be renewed, however, when the period of time has elapsed, a ...
s into the diocese, including the Redemptorists
The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scala ...
, Benedictines
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...
, Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
s (including the Minor Conventuals and Capuchins
Capuchin can refer to:
*Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, an order of Roman Catholic friars
*Capuchin Poor Clares, an order of Roman Catholic contemplative religious sisters
*Capuchin monkey, primates of the genus ''Cebus'' and ''Sapajus'', named af ...
), Jesuits
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
, Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth
The Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth (Latin: ''Congregatio Sororum Sacrae Familiae de Nazareth'') are a Catholic Church, Catholic religious institute founded in Rome in 1875 by Mother Franciszka Siedliska. They use the po ...
, Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, Daughters of Wisdom
The Daughters of Wisdom is a Catholic religious institute of women founded by Louis de Montfort and Marie Louise Trichet in 1703 to serve those in need.
History
In 1703, when he was temporary chaplain of the hospital of Poitiers, Louis de Mont ...
, and Sisters of the Holy Infant Jesus.[
He established the forerunner of the Catholic Schools Office in 1894 and ]Catholic Charities
The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations.
Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spir ...
in 1899. He was named an Assistant at the Pontifical Throne
The Bishops-Assistant at the Pontifical Throne were ecclesiastical titles in the Catholic Church. It designated prelates belonging to the Papal Chapel, who stood near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions. They ranked immediately below the ...
in 1903, and founded the diocesan newspaper, ''The Tablet'', in 1908. To the institutions of the diocese Bishop McDonnell added two hospitals and largely increased the capacity of one of those already established; the Ozanam Home for Friendless Women; the new St. Vincent's Home for Friendless Boys; two seaside recreation places for children and a trade school farm for orphans. He was described by the ''Brooklyn Eagle'' as "learned, judicious, amiable, firm and persuasive."[ McDonnell later died from ]kidney
In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...
trouble in Brentwood, aged 67. He was waked in St. James's Pro-Cathedral and buried alongside Bishop Loughlin in the downstairs crypt.[
]
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonnell, Charles Edward
1854 births
1921 deaths
19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States
20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States
Religious leaders from Manhattan
Roman Catholic bishops of Brooklyn