Herman Joseph Alerding (April 13, 1845 – December 6, 1924) was a German-born American prelate 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 Fort Wayne in Indiana from 1900 until his death in 1924.

Biography

Early life

Herman Alerding was born on April 13, 1845, in

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

(a province in west Germany). After his birth, the family immigrated to the United States, settling in Newport,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. He attended the

parochial school A parochial school is a private school, private Primary school, primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathem ...

of Corpus Christi Parish. Alerding decided to become a priest, but Bishop George Carrell, the prelate for the local Diocese of Covington, refused to send him to seminary. Carrell did not want to pay Alerding's seminary tuition. However, in 1858, Bishop

Jacques-Maurice De Saint Palais Jacques-Maurice des Landes d’Aussac de Saint Palais (November 15, 1811 – June 28, 1877) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the fourth Roman Catholic Diocese of Vincennes (Indiana), Bishop of Vincennes, from 1 ...

of the nearby Diocese of Vincennes sponsored Alerding at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary near

Vincennes Vincennes (; ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Vincennes is famous for its castle: the Château de Vincennes. It is next to but does not include the ...

. When St. Charles closed in 1859, Alerding transferred to St. Thomas Seminary in

Bardstown Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 13,567 in the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County. Bardstown is named for the pioneering Bard brothers. David Bard obtained a ...

. He returned to Indiana in 1860 and entering St. Meinrad Seminary in St. Meinrad, Indiana. At the seminary, he mentored

Paul Dresser Paul Dresser (born Johann Paul Dreiser Jr.; April 22, 1857 – January 30, 1906) was an American singer, songwriter, and comedic actor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Dresser performed in traveling minstrel and medicine-wa ...

and taught him to play several musical instruments. Dresser later became a popular composer and authored " On the Banks of the Wabash", the state song of Indiana. After receiving the

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

and

minor orders In Christianity, minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders—priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders— acolyt ...

in September 1865, Alerding 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 subdiaconate on June 18, 1867, and to the

diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Catholi ...

on June 21.

Priesthood

Alerding was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Vincennes by Bishop Saint Palais on September 22, 1869. After his ordination, Alerding served as 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 ...

at St. Joseph Parish in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and Terre Haute metropolitan area, its metropolitan area had a populati ...

, while also attending several missions throughout Parke and Sullivan Counties in Indiana He was appointed

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

in 1871 of St. Elizabeth Parish in

Cambridge City, Indiana Cambridge City is a town in Jackson Township, Wayne County, Indiana, Jackson Township, Wayne County, Indiana, Wayne County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 1,870 at the 2010 census. History Cambridge City was laid out and platte ...

. While at Cambridge City, Alerding calmed a turbulent congregation which had been under

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits certain persons or groups from participating in particular rites, or that the rites and services of the church are prohibited in certain territories for ...

for several months, liquidated the parish debt, and purchased a site for a new church. Alerding was transferred to St. Joseph Parish in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

in 1874, there overseeing the construction of a church,

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

, and parochial school. He briefly served as procurator of the adjoining St. Joseph Seminary until it was closed the following year. In 1883, Alerding published ''A History of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Vincennes''. Alerding was stricken by

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

and took a trip to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

to recover in 1884.

Bishop of Fort Wayne

On August 30, 1900, Alerding was appointed the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne 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 ...

. He received his episcopal

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 November 30, 1900, from Archbishop William Elder, with Bishops Denis O'Donaghue and Henry K. Moeller 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 the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne. He presided over a diocesan

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 Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

in November 1903. His pew-rent policy was expressly opposed by Archbishop Diomede Falconio, the apostolic delegate to the United States. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Alerding established the Fort Wayne Diocesan War Council. In a pastoral letter issued in December 1918, Alerding declared, "We deserved the infliction of this terrible war and its awful consequences." Under Alerding's administration, the number of diocesan priests nearly doubled from 109 in 1900 to 210 in 1925. In 1900, the diocese had 102 churches with resident pastors, 39 mission churches, and 73 parochial schools; in 1924, there were 148 churches with resident pastors, 31 mission churches, and 106 parochial schools.

Death and legacy

On November 29, 1924, Alerding suffered three broken ribs when his car collided with a

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

in Fort Wayne. Already weakened by

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, he never recovered from the accident. Herman Alerding died in Fort Wayne on December 6, 1924, at age 79. He was buried at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alerding, Herman Joseph 1845 births 1924 deaths People from the Province of Westphalia German emigrants to the United States People from Fort Wayne, Indiana Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Fort Wayne