Edward Daniel Howard (November 5, 1877 – January 2, 1983) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

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. He served as the Auxiliary Bishop of Davenport from 1924 to 1926 and the Archbishop of Portland from 1926 to 1966. At the time of his death in 1983 he was the oldest Catholic bishop in the world.

Early life and education

Edward Howard was born in Cresco,

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, to John and Marie (née Fleming) Howard. His father, who was born in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

but immigrated to the United States as a child, served during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

with the 95th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment and was wounded at the

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mi ...

. Howard had a

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with t ...

brother who died in infancy. He attended

St. Joseph College Saint Joseph's College or Saint Joseph College may refer to: Africa * St Joseph's College, Kgale, Botswana * St. Joseph's College, Sasse, Cameroon * St Joseph's College, Curepipe, Mauritius * St Joseph's Marist College, Rondebosch, South Africa ...

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

, where he received his

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

education and completed two years of college. He continued his studies at St. Mary College in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

and at St. Paul Seminary in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

Priesthood

Howard was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

to the priesthood by Archbishop John Ireland on June 12, 1906. He then returned to St. Joseph College, where he served as professor of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

at the high school department. He served as principal of the high school from 1908 until 1916, when he became dean of the college. From 1921 to 1924, he served as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

of St. Joseph's.

Episcopacy

On December 23, 1923, Howard was appointed auxiliary bishop of the

Diocese of Davenport The Diocese of Davenport ( la, Diœcesis Davenportensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church for the southeastern quarter of the U.S. state of Iowa. There are within the diocese. The diocese's eastern ...

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 a ...

of ''

Isaura Isauria ( or ; grc, Ἰσαυρία), in ancient geography, is a rugged, isolated, district in the interior of Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering what is now the district of Bozkır and its surrou ...

'' by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fr ...

. He received his episcopal consecration on April 8, 1924 from Archbishop

Austin Dowling Daniel Austin Dowling (April 6, 1868 – November 29, 1930) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the second archbishop of what was then the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Archdiocese of Saint ...

, with Bishops Daniel Gorman and Thomas Drumm 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 Churches ...

, at St. Raphael's Cathedral in Dubuque. As an auxiliary bishop, he assisted Bishop James J. Davis for two years. Following the death of Archbishop Alexander Christie, Howard was appointed the fifth

Archbishop of Oregon City The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon (''Archidioecesis Portlandensis in Oregonia'') is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It encompasses the western part of the state of Oregon, from the s ...

on April 30, 1926. His installation took place at St. Mary's Cathedral in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

on August 26 of that year. On September 26, 1928, the name of the archdiocese was changed from ''Oregon City'' to ''Portland in Oregon''. During his tenure as archbishop, Howard created a

chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Chancery (diplomacy), the principal office that houses a diplomatic mission or an embassy * Chancery (medieval office), responsible for the production of official documents * Chancery (Scotlan ...

in the cathedral

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically o ...

, later transferring it to a separate building. He reorganized the St. Vincent de Paul and Holy Name Societies, fostered the growth of

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 spi ...

, and removed the ''

Catholic Sentinel The ''Catholic Sentinel'' was the Catholic newspaper of the Archdiocese of Portland. Reportedly the oldest Catholic newspaper on the West Coast, it was published by Oregon Catholic Press, which also published ''El Centinela'', a Spanish-langua ...

'' from private ownership. In 1931, Howard led a successful campaign to repeal local zoning ordinances that prohibited the building of churches and parochial schools. He convened the Fourth Provincial Council of the archdiocese in 1932, and held a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mea ...

for the clergy in 1935. In 1939, he founded Central Catholic High School in Portland and was named an

Assistant at the Pontifical Throne The Bishops-Assistant at the Pontifical Throne were ecclesiastical titles in the Roman Catholic Church. It designated prelates belonging to the Papal Chapel, who stood near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions. They ranked immediately b ...

by Pope Pius XII in 1939. He convened the Fifth Provincial Council of the archdiocese in 1957, and attended all four sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

between 1962 and 1965.

Later life and death

After forty years as archbishop, Howard retired on December 9, 1966; he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Albulae by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

on the same date. He served as

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the archdiocese until the installation of his successor, Robert Joseph Dwyer. Howard spent his retirement a
Maryville Nursing Home
in Beaverton, where he died at age 105. He is interred at Mount Calvary Cemetery. At the time of his death, he was the oldest Catholic prelate in the world.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Edward 1877 births 1983 deaths Participants in the Second Vatican Council American centenarians Men centenarians Loras College alumni University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) alumni Roman Catholic archbishops of Oregon City Roman Catholic archbishops of Portland in Oregon Saint Mary's Academy and College alumni 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport People from Cresco, Iowa Burials at Mount Calvary Cemetery (Portland, Oregon) Religious leaders from Iowa Catholics from Iowa Loras College faculty