John Raphael Hagan (February 26, 1890 – September 28, 1946) was an American prelate of the

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 ...

in the United States. He served as

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 of Cleveland The Diocese of Cleveland () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northeastern Ohio in the United States. , the bishop is Edward Malesic. The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, located in Clevelan ...

in Ohio for four months in 1946. He previously served as the president of St. John College in Cleveland.

Biography

Early life

John Hagan was born on February 26, 1890, in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, to Katherine (Foley) and John Hagan. When he was two years old, the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. By the time the younger John Hagan graduated from St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, he knew that he wanted to become a priest.The diocese sent Hagan to the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Prie ...

, the seminary in Rome for Americans.

Priesthood

Hagan was ordained into the priesthood in Rome on March 7, 1914 by Cardinal

Basilio Pompili Basilio Pompili (16 April 1858 – 5 May 1931) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Vicar General of Rome from 1913 until his death. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1911. Biography Basilio Pompili was born in Spoleto, and studie ...

.After his ordination, the diocese assigned Hagen as an assistant priest at St. Augustine Parish in Cleveland. He was transferred in 1916 to St. Patrick Parish in Cleveland. In 1921, he was posted to St. Mary Parish in

Bedford, Ohio Bedford is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,149 at the 2020 census. It is an eastern suburb of Cleveland. History The area that is now Bedford and northeastern Ohio was originally inhabited by Native America ...

. Hagen was named superintendent of the Catholic schools in Cleveland by Bishop

Joseph Schrembs Joseph Schrembs (March 12, 1866 – November 2, 1945) was a German-born prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids in Michigan for five months in 1911, as bishop of the Diocese of Toledo i ...

in 1923. For his high education, Hagen attended the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

in Germany and the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

in Washington, D.C. He would receive a Doctorate of Sacred Theology and a Doctorate of Science in Education. During the early 1930s, Hagen worked to transform Sisters' College in Cleveland from a normal school for religious sisters into an accredited four-year teaching college. It became St. John College in 1935, with Hagen as its first president.

Auxiliary Bishop of Cleveland

On April 27, 1946,

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 ...

appointed Hagan as the

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Limata'' and as auxiliary bishop of Cleveland. He was consecrated by Bishop

Edward F. Hoban Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

on May 28, 1946 at St. Agnes Church in Cleveland.. The principal co-consecrators were Bishops James A. McFadden of

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

and John P. Treacy of

La Crosse La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 20 ...

. Hagan served as an auxiliary bishop for four months. After contracting

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...

, Hagen died after abdominal surgery in Cleveland on September 28, 1946, at age 56.

References

1890 births 1946 deaths Religious leaders from Pittsburgh American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland 20th-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops {{US-RC-bishop-stub