James Joseph Hartley (June 26, 1858 – January 12, 1944) 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 the fourth 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 1904 until his death over 39 years later. His was the longest episcopate in the diocese's history.

Biography

Early life

The eldest of six children, James Hartley was born on June 26, 1858, in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

, to

Irish immigrants The Irish diaspora () refers to ethnic Irish people and their descendants who live outside the island of Ireland. The phenomenon of migration from Ireland is recorded since the Early Middle Ages,Flechner, Roy; Meeder, Sven (2017). The Irish ...

Edward Hartley and Catherine McManus Hartley. Shortly after his birth, Hartley and his family moved to

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, where his parents had been married at St. Patrick Parish. His father kept a saloon on West Maple Street, and the family lived upstairs. His father also worked as a Columbus police officer for many years. Hartley attended the parish school at St. Patrick, then entered St. Aloysius Seminary in Columbus. When that seminary closed, he attended Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West in

Norwood, Ohio Norwood is the third most populous city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and an enclave of the larger city of Cincinnati. The population was 19,043 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Originally settled as an early suburb of ...

, then Our Lady of Angels Seminary in

Niagara, New York Niagara is a town in Niagara County, New York, United States. At the time of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 7,903. The town is named after the famous waterfall Niagara Falls. The Town of Niagara is in the southwestern porti ...

Priesthood

Hartley 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 Diocese of Columbus by Bishop John A. Watterson on July 10, 1882, in St. Joseph Cathedral in Columbus. His first assignment was as

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

at St. Peter's Parish in

Steubenville, Ohio Steubenville ( ) is a city in Jefferson County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Ohio River west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Weirton–Steubenville m ...

. In 1885, he was named pastor of Holy Name Parish in Steubenville. While pastor of Holy Name, Hartley organized a school, a high school, and had a new church built. That church became the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of the

Diocese of Steubenville The Diocese of Steubenville () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church covering thirteen counties in southeastern Ohio in the United States. The Diocese of Steubenville is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesia ...

when the diocese was erected by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

on October 21, 1944.

Bishop of Columbus

On December 10, 1903, at the age of 45, Hartley was appointed as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Columbus by

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

. He was

consecrated 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 (a ...

by his predecessor Bishop Henry K. Moeller on February 25, 1904, in Holy Name Parish in Steubenville. Bishops

Denis O'Donaghue Denis O'Donaghue (November 30, 1848 – November 7, 1925) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Louisville from 1910 to 1924. Biography Early life O'Donaghue was born on a farm in Daviess County, Indiana, t ...

and Herman J. Alerding served 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 ...

. Hartley was formally installed as bishop in St. Joseph Cathedral on March 1, 1904. During his tenure, Hartley oversaw a significant growth of the diocese. In 1905, he erected his first parishes, Holy Rosary and St. Aloysius. In 1906, he retired the debt on St. Joseph Cathedral. Within the first five years of his episcopate, Hartley had begun or dedicated more than 25 churches, schools, and chapels. He also renovated St. Joseph Cathedral. Hartley establish the following institutions in Ohio: * St. Charles Seminary in Columbus * St. Joseph Cemetery in

Lockbourne Lockbourne is a village in Franklin County and Pickaway County, Ohio, United States. The population was 236 at the 2020 census. Lockbourne is located near Rickenbacker International Airport, and had initially provided its original name of Lockb ...

* St. Ann Hospital in Westerville * Mercy Hospital in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

* Good Samaritan Hospital in

Zanesville Zanesville is a city in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located at the confluence of the Licking and Muskingum rivers, the city is approximately east of Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the 2020 cen ...

* Mercy Hospital in

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

* St. Therese Shrine in Columbus Toward the end of his term as bishop, Hartley consecrated Reverend Edward Hettinger as the first

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.

Death and legacy

James Hartley died in Columbus on January 12, 1944, at age 85. He was buried at St. Joseph Cemetery in

Lockbourne, Ohio Lockbourne is a village in Franklin County and Pickaway County, Ohio, United States. The population was 236 at the 2020 census. Lockbourne is located near Rickenbacker International Airport, and had initially provided its original name of Lockb ...

. Bishop Hartley High School, established on the east side of Columbus in 1957, is named in his honor.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartley, James Joseph 1858 births 1944 deaths American people of Irish descent People from Davenport, Iowa Roman Catholic bishops of Columbus 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States The Athenaeum of Ohio alumni Catholics from Iowa