Edward John Herrmann (November 6, 1913 – December 22, 1999) 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

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. 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 1973 to 1982. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington D.C. from 1966 to 1973.

Biography

Early life

Herrmann was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, on November 6, 1913, the son of

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

parents, Walter E. and Jennie Doyle Herrmann, who owned a small grocery store. Walter Herrmann died in the

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the Influenza A virus subtype H1N1, H1N1 subtype of the influenz ...

. Edward Herrmann was baptized a Catholic in 1919. Herrmann attended St. Bernard and St. James grade schools, then graduated from Loyola High School in Baltimore in 1931. He then went to work for the

American Oil Company Amoco ( ) is a brand of fuel stations operating in the United States and owned by British conglomerate BP since 1998. The Amoco Corporation was an American chemical and oil company, founded by Standard Oil Company in 1889 around a refinery i ...

in Baltimore during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. After deciding to enter the priesthood, Herrmann studied at Mount Saint Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Priesthood

Herrmann was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Baltimore-Washington on June 12, 1947, in Baltimore's Cathedral of the Assumption by Auxiliary Bishop John McNamara. He served as pastor and assistant

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 ...

Auxiliary Bishop of Washington

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul 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 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

appointed Herrmann as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington and titular bishop of Lamzella on March 4, 1966. He was consecrated by Archbishop Patrick O'Boyle on April 26, 1966, at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington. He became

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

and chancellor of the archdiocese.

Bishop of Columbus

Herrmann was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Columbus on June 26, 1973, by Pope Paul VI; Hermann was installed as its ninth bishop on August 21, 1973. Herrmann helped establish Operation Feed in Columbus, a countywide food drive that now provides millions of meals every year to people in the Columbus area. He also reorganized the diocese into the 15

vicariate A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

s and instituted the Emmaus Spirituality Program for priests.

Retirement and legacy

Pope John Paul II accepted Herrmann's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Columbus on September 18, 1982. He served as

diocesan administrator A diocesan administrator (also known as archdiocesan administrator, archiepiscopal administrator and eparchial administrator for the case, respectively, of an archdiocese, archeparchy, and eparchy) is a provisional ordinary of a Catholic partic ...

until April 25, 1983, when Bishop James A. Griffin succeeded him. In retirement, Herrmann resided at

St. Ann's Infant and Maternity Home St. Ann's Center for Children, Youth and Families, formerly known as St. Ann's Infant and Maternity Home, is administered by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. It is located at 4 ...

in Avondale, Maryland. However, he returned to Columbus in November 1991 to assist the bishop in the diocese. Edward Herrmann died on December 22, 1999, in Columbus and was buried in the crypt of St. Joseph Cathedral there.

References

External links

Diocese of Columbus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrmann, Edward John 1913 births 1999 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism Mount St. Mary's University alumni Religious leaders from Baltimore Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington Roman Catholic bishops of Columbus 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Religious leaders from Washington, D.C.