John Connolly, O.P. (1750 – February 6, 1825), was an Irish-born

Catholic 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 ...

prelate who served as Bishop of New York from 1814 until his death. He was a member of the

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Biography

Early life

John Connolly was born in

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

; according to various sources, he was born in either

Slane Slane () is a village in County Meath, in Ireland. The village stands on a steep hillside on the left bank of the River Boyne at the intersection of the N2 (Dublin to Monaghan road) and the N51 (Drogheda to Navan road). As of the 2022 census ...

O'Daniel, Victor. "John Connolly." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 6 Oct. 2014
/ref> or

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

. Dominican historian Victor O'Daniel reports that Connolly's family had a tenant farm on the Hill of Slane. After receiving his early education in his native country, he continued his studies in Belgium, and entered the

Order of Friars Preachers The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilian priest named Dominic de Guzmán. It was approved by Pope Honorius II ...

, more commonly known as the Dominican friars, at an early age. He was subsequently sent to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where he 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 on September 24, 1774. Among the various capacities he filled in Rome, Connolly served as a professor at the Dominican convent of St. Clement, of which institution he later became

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

. He was also an agent of the Irish bishops, and saved the English and Irish colleges—as well as his own convent, church, and library—from being plundered by the

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invaders.

Bishop of New York

On October 4, 1814, Connolly was appointed the second Bishop of New York in the

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Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

. He received his

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

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 the following November 6 from Cardinal Cesare Brancadoro, with Archbishops

Giovanni Francesco Guerrieri Giovanni Francesco Guerrieri (1589–1655) was an Italian painter, and Caravaggisto. Guerrieri was born in Fossombrone. In 1606 he travelled to Rome where he studied under some notable artists including Orazio Gentileschi. Returning home in 161 ...

and Giovanni Marchetti 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 ...

, in Rome. Connolly set sail from Italy and stopped in Ireland on the way. At St. Kieran's College in Kilkenny, he attempted to recruit priests for his new diocese.Corrigan, Michael. "Register of Clergy", ''Historical Records and Studies'', Vol. 2, United States Catholic Historical Society, 1901, p. 36
/ref> He did not reach New York until November 24, 1815. He arrived on board the ''Sally'' from a transatlantic trip that took all of sixty-seven days, and Connolly had been presumed lost at sea. Since the first Bishop of New York, R. Luke Concanen, O.P., had been impeded from sailing for New York due to the embargo of Europe then in place, Connolly was the first bishop of the diocese to minister personally to his flock. He is described as having been a "small-sized man" and a person of more than ordinary mildness and gentleness of character, who would travel the city on foot to attend to the poor and sick. According to historian

Peter Guilday Monsignor Peter Keenan Guilday (March 25, 1884 - July 31, 1947) American Catholic priest and historian. John Tracy Ellis, "Monsignore Peter Guilday" in '' The Catholic Historical Review'' 43:3 (Oct. 1947), 257-268. Life Guilday was born in Chest ...

, "It may well be doubted if, in the entire history of the Catholic Church in the United States, any other bishop began his episcopal life under such disheartening conditions."Egan, Edward. "A Bishop for New York Arrives", Archdiocese of New York, January 18, 2007
/ref> At the time of Connolly's arrival, the diocese covered all of New York and part of

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, with four priests, three churches, and approximately 15,000 Catholics, most of them Irish, along with some English, French and Germans. There were three churches: St. Peter's on Barclay Street, St. Patrick's on Mulberry St., and St. Mary's in Albany. During his tenure, he erected churches in Utica and Rochester, founded an

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, and introduced the

Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition alone, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (whose sisters are also of ...

. He traveled over 1,000 miles on horseback, preaching and bringing the sacraments to half-starved immigrants, largely from Ireland, who were building the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

. Connolly died on February 6, 1825, at age 74. He is interred at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral He body was later displaced to a vault by the trustees to make way for that of an influential layman. It was not rediscovered until the building was renovated in 1976. Terence Cardinal Cooke had it reinterred in St. Patrick's Old Cathedral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connolly, John 1750 births 1825 deaths People from Slane American Dominicans Irish Dominicans Irish expatriates in Italy Irish Roman Catholic missionaries Dominican bishops 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of New York Irish expatriate Roman Catholic bishops Irish emigrants to the United States Burials at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral Roman Catholic missionaries in the United States Christian clergy from County Meath Bishops appointed by Pope Pius VII