Ignatius Aloysius Reynolds (August 22, 1798 – March 6, 1855) 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 Charleston, covering three states in the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...

, from 1844 until his death in 1855.

Biography

Early life

Ignatius Reynolds was born on August 22, 1798, 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 ...

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 ...

, to John and Ann ( French) Reynolds. He enrolled at the

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

there at an early age. In December 1821, he entered

St. Mary's Seminary St. Mary's Seminary and University is a Catholic seminary located within the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland; it was the first seminary founded in the United States after the Revolution and has been run since its founding by the ...

in Baltimore, Maryland.

Priesthood

Reynolds 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 for the

Archdiocese of Baltimore The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore () is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in northern and western Maryland in the United States. It is the metropolitan see of the Ecclesiastical Province of Baltimore. The Archd ...

by Archbishop

Ambrose Maréchal Ambrose Maréchal, P.S.S. (August 28, 1764 – January 29, 1828) was a French-born Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Baltimore from 1817 until his death. He was a member of the Sulpicians. Maréchal dedicated the Cathedral of the As ...

in Baltimore on October 24, 1823. Following his return to Kentucky, Reynolds served as president of St. Joseph's College in Bardstown until 1830, when he succeeded Reverend

Francis Kenrick Francis Patrick Kenrick (December 3, 1796 or 1797 – July 8, 1863) was an Irish-born Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Philadelphia (1842–1851) and Archbishop of Baltimore (1851–1863). Kenrick grew up in Ireland, where he received ...

as professor of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the Bardstown seminary. He also served as rector of the Cathedral of the Assumption in Louisville, Kentucky. Reynolds later became superior of the

Sisters of Charity of Nazareth The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (SCN) is an American Catholic order of religious sisters founded in 1812 near Bardstown, Kentucky. There, three young women responded to Bishop John Baptist Mary David's call for assistance in ministering to t ...

, and

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 ...

of the diocese.

Bishop of Charleston

On November 28, 1843, Reynolds was appointed the second bishop of Charleston by

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...

. At that time, the diocese included the states of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. 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 March 19, 1844, from Archbishop John Purcell, with Bishops Michael O'Connor and Richard Miles 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 Saint Peter in Chains Cathedral in Cincinnati, Ohio. During his tenure, Reynolds brought stability to the diocesan administration. He conducted visitations of the entire diocese, which then included both

Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the southwes ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. These areas were dominated by

Episcopalians 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 Prot ...

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, and Methodists; there were only about 12,000 Catholics in the diocese in 1846. Reynolds published a five-volume work on his popular predecessor, Bishop John England; erased the $14,000 diocesan debt left by England, and dedicated the

Cathedral of Saint John and Saint Finbar The Cathedral of St. John and St. Finbar was the first Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic cathedral in Charleston, South Carolina. The cathedral followed the first Roman Catholic Church in Charleston, St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church (Charles ...

in Charleston in April 1854.

Death and legacy

Reynolds died on March 6, 1855, at age 56 in Charleston.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Ignatius A. 1798 births 1855 deaths St. Mary's Seminary and University alumni People from Bardstown, Kentucky Roman Catholic bishops of Charleston 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Catholic Church in North Carolina Religious leaders from North Carolina Catholics from Kentucky