Clarence Edward Elwell (February 4, 1904 – February 16, 1973) 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 the

Diocese of Columbus In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

in Ohio from 1968 until his death in 1973. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland in Ohio from 1962 to 1968.

Biography

Early life

Clarence Elwell was born on February 4, 1904, in the Newburgh Heights section of

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. After graduating from Holy Name High School in Parma Heights, Ohio, he studied medicine at St. Ignatius College in Cleveland for two years. Elwell then decided to enter the priesthood and transferred to St. Mary Seminary in

Lakeside, Ohio Lakeside is a private community and census-designated place in Danbury Township, Ohio, Danbury Township, Ottawa County, Ohio, Ottawa County, Ohio, United States, on the shores of Lake Erie. It was formed in 1873 by members of the Methodist Churc ...

. He then traveled to

Innsbruck, Austria Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a population of 132,493 in 2018. In the ...

, to study at the

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (; ) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. It is the largest education facility in the Austrian States of Austria, ...

Priesthood

Elwell 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 ...

a priest in Innsbruck for the Diocese of Cleveland by Bishop Sigismund Waitz on March 17, 1929. Upon his return to Cleveland, Elwell served as an

assistant priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

, teacher, and assistant superintendent of

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 ...

in the diocese. He earned a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum an ...

degree from

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

in Cleveland in 1934, and a

Doctor of Education Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...

degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1938. When he returned to Cleveland, Elwell was named director of Catholic high schools. In 1946, he was appointed superintendent of the diocesan school system. He was granted the title of

monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

in 1949.

Auxiliary Bishop of Cleveland

On November 5, 1962, Elwell was appointed as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the Diocese of Cleveland and

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Cone by

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

on December 21, 1962, from Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi, with Bishops Floyd Begin and

John Francis Whealon John Francis Whealon (January 15, 1921 – August 2, 1991) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford in Connecticut from 1968 to 1991. Whealon previously served as an auxili ...

serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

, at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Cleveland

Bishop of Columbus

Pope Paul VI named Elwell as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Columbus on May 29, 1968; he was installed at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Columbus on August 22, 1968. During his tenure as Bishop, Elwell continued the implementation of the reforms of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

, initiated under his predecessor, John Carberry. An advocate of

Catholic education Catholic education may refer to: * Catholic school, primary and secondary education organised by the Roman Catholic Church or affiliated organisations * Catholic higher education, higher education run by the Catholic Church or affiliated organisat ...

, he opened the following schools in Ohio: *

Tuscarawas Central Catholic High School Tuscarawas Central Catholic Junior/Senior High School is a private, Catholic high school in New Philadelphia, Ohio, United States. It is one of eleven secondary schools operated under the direction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus. Athl ...

in New Philadelphia * William V. Fisher Catholic High School in Lancaster * Bishop Rosecrans High School in Zanesville Elwell also converted the diocesan seminary in Columbus into St. Charles College Preparatory School. He also established Resurrection Cemetery in Lewis Center, Ohio, St. Peter Parish in

Worthington, Ohio Worthington is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, and is a northern suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census was 14,786. The city was founded in 1803 by the Scioto Company led by ...

, the Sisters' Council, and the Pastoral Council. He significantly expanded the Development Office, the Parish Aid Fund, and the diocesan

self-insurance Self insurance is a risk management method in which an organization that is liable for some risk does not take out any third-party insurance, but rather chooses to bear the risk itself. When used prudently, the organization that self insures sets ...

program. Clarence Elwell died at his residence in the

chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873 ** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery ** Courts of e ...

in Columbus on February 16, 1973, at age 69. He is buried at St. Joseph Cemetery in Columbus.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elwell, Clarence Edward 1904 births 1973 deaths Participants in the Second Vatican Council Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Roman Catholic bishops of Columbus 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Case Western Reserve University alumni Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology alumni University of Innsbruck alumni People from Cuyahoga County, Ohio