John Edward Taylor,

OMI Omi or OMI may refer to: Organisations * Optical Mechanics, Inc., a US telescope company * Ottico Meccanica Italiana, an Italian company * Original Musical Instrument Company, manufacturers of resonator guitars * Open Music Initiative, a digital ...

(November 15, 1914 – September 9, 1976) was an American

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

. The first American-born bishop to head a European diocese, he was Bishop of Stockholm in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

from 1962 to 1976.

Early life and priesthood

Taylor was born in East St. Louis,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, to Robert and Mary (née Pohl) Taylor. After attending St. Henry’s Preparatory Seminary in Belleville, he took his vows for the

Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest later recognized as a Catholic saint. The congregation was ...

in 1934. He continued his studies in

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 attended the

Angelicum The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PUST), also known as the ''Angelicum'' or ''Collegio Angelico'' (in honor of its patron, the ''Doctor Angelicus'' Thomas Aquinas), is a pontifical university located in the historic center of R ...

and the Gregorian. On May 25, 1940, Taylor 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 in Rome. He earned his Ph.D. at

Ottawa University Ottawa University (OU) is a private Baptist university with its main campus in Ottawa, Kansas. It also has a second residential campus in Surprise, Arizona, and adult campuses in the Kansas City and Milwaukee metropolitan areas, as well as onlin ...

in 1941, with a thesis on the philosophy of

John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and Education reform, educational reformer. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the first half of the twentieth century. The overridi ...

. Returning to the United States, he taught at the Oblates’ minor seminary in Belleville before serving as

superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

of Oblate seminaries in

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

(1947-1953) and in

Pass Christian Pass Christian (), nicknamed The Pass, is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 6,307 at the 2019 census. History Pre-European histor ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

(1953-1958). In 1958, Taylor was chosen to lead a

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

to revive the Catholic Church in Greenland. He first established a headquarters in the

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

suburb of

Herlev Herlev is a suburb about 11 km northwest of Copenhagen city centre, bordering Rødovre to the south, Ballerup to the west and Gladsaxe Municipality, Gladsaxe to the north. It is the site of the municipal council of Herlev Municipality, Denma ...

and, in 1960, became the first Catholic priest to settle in Greenland since the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

Bishop of Stockholm

On July 2, 1962, Taylor was appointed Bishop of Stockholm in

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

. 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 the following September 21 from Archbishop

Bruno Heim Bruno Bernard Heim (5 March 1911 – 18 March 2003) was a Swiss prelate and Latin Titular Archbishop of Xanthus, a long-serving diplomat of the Holy See who among other appointments was Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain, and later Apostolic ...

, with Bishops Jacques Mangers and Fulton J. Sheen serving as co-

consecrator 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 Churches ...

s, in the

Blue Hall The Blue Hall () is the main hall of the Stockholm City Hall Stockholm City Hall (, ''Stadshuset'' locally) is the seat of Stockholm Municipality in Stockholm, Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärd ...

Stockholm City Hall Stockholm City Hall (, ''Stadshuset'' locally) is the seat of Stockholm Municipality in Stockholm, Sweden. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island, next to Riddarfjärden's northern shore and facing the islands of Riddarholmen and ...

. The event was the first consecration of a Catholic bishop in Sweden since 1531. His episcopal motto was ''Evangelizare misit me''.Roman Catholic Church in Sweden
/ref> During his tenure, the estimated number of Catholics in the Diocese of Stockholm (which covers all of Sweden) rose from 27,000 to 75,000, and the number of priests rose from 64 to 97. He also established a priests’ council, a Catholic education commission, and an ecumenical commission. He served as chairman of the Scandinavian Bishops Conference from 1970 to 1973. Taylor attended all four sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

between 1962 and 1965. He presented Catholic peace activist

Tom Cornell Thomas C. Cornell (April 11, 1934 – August 1, 2022) was an American journalist and a peace activist against the Vietnam War and the Iraq War. He was an associate editor of the '' Catholic Worker'' and a deacon in the Catholic Church. Early ...

with the commemorative medal given to each bishop who participated in the Council, in acknowledgment of "the role that the

Catholic Peace Fellowship The Catholic Peace Fellowship (CPF) is a prominent Catholic pacifist organization founded in 1964 to promote nonviolence and social justice, particularly in response to the Vietnam War. The CPF emerged from the broader peace movement of the 1960s a ...

, together with the

Catholic Worker ''The Catholic Worker'' is a newspaper based in New York City. It is published seven times a year by the flagship ''Catholic Worker'' community in New York City. It focuses on themes such as social justice, Catholic social teaching, pacifism, and ...

, played at the Council – the role of invisible Council Father."

Later life

Following an operation to remove a cerebral tumor, Taylor resigned as Bishop of Stockholm on June 3, 1976. He retired to a nursing home run by the

Bridgettines The Bridgettines, or Birgittines, formally known as the Order of the Most Holy Saviour (; abbreviated OSsS), is a monastic religious order of the Catholic Church founded by Saint Birgitta (Bridget of Sweden) in 1344 and approved by Pope Urban V ...

Djursholm Djursholm () is one of four suburban districts in, and the seat of Danderyd Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. Djursholm is included in the multi-municipal Stockholm urban area. Djursholm is divided into a number of different areas: Djursho ...

, where he died a few months later on September 9, at the age of 61.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, John E. 1914 births 1976 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Stockholm 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Sweden People from East St. Louis, Illinois Catholics from Illinois Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests