Joseph Francis Hanselman (October 28, 1856 – January 16, 1923) was an American

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 ...

priest and member of the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

. He served as the president of the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by educators Benedict Joseph Fenwick and Thomas F. Mulledy in 1843 under the auspices of the Society of Jesus. ...

and rector of

Woodstock College Woodstock College was a Society of Jesus, Jesuit seminary that existed from 1869 to 1974. It was the oldest Jesuit seminary in the United States. The school was located in Woodstock, Maryland, west of Baltimore, from its establishment until 1969, ...

. He also was the superior of the Maryland-New York Province of the Jesuits and as the American assistant to the Jesuit Superior General in Rome.

Biography

Joseph Francis Hanselman was born in the

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

neighborhood of the city of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York (then independent of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

), on October 28, 1856. He was born to Margaret and Henry Hanselman and had eight siblings. Of his six brothers, five became priests; both of his sisters became nuns. His brothers were James, John Thomas, George, Michael, and his sisters assumed the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...

s of Vincent and Thomasina. He attended

Saint Vincent College Saint Vincent College is a private Catholic, Benedictines, Benedictine college in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 by Boniface Wimmer, a monk from Bavaria, it is operated by the Benedictine Monks of Saint Vincent Archabbey, the first Bene ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

before completing his education at St. Francis Xavier College in New York City, where he graduated in 1877. Following his secular education, Hanselman entered the

Grand Séminaire de Montréal The Grand séminaire de Montréal (, "Major Seminary of Montreal") is the centre for priestly formation of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal. History The institution was founded by the Sulpicians in 1840 at the request of the then-Bis ...

. However, soon thereafter, he instead decided to enter the Jesuit Order at

West Park, New York West Park is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet on the west side of the Hudson River in the Town of Esopus, New York, Esopus, Ulster County, New York, United States. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the area became attractive to the ...

in 1878. After some time teaching at St. Peter's College in

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

, he completed his formation

and was ordained a priest in 1892. Hanselman was made the dean of studies and discipline at the

in 1893, where he remained until being appointed the president of the college in 1901. As president, he was responsible for overseeing the construction of Alumni Hall. He became the

provincial superior A provincial superior is an officer of a religious institute (including religious orders) acting under the institute's Superior General. A provincial superior exercises general supervision over all the members of that institute in a territorial ...

of the Maryland-New York Province of the Society of Jesus on March 25, 1906, succeeding Thomas J. Gannon. He remained in this position until becoming the rector of Woodstock College in 1912; he was succeeded as provincial by Anthony Maas. In 1918, Hanselman was elevated to the position of American assistant-general to the Jesuit Superior General. He was the second person to hold this office. Unlike his predecessor, Gannon, Hanselman initially remained in the United States while holding the position, rather than move to Rome, due to the fighting of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He held this post until his death in Rome on January 16, 1923. He was succeeded as the American assistant by Anthony Maas, S.J.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanselman, Joseph 1856 births 1923 deaths People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn Religious leaders from Brooklyn Presidents of the College of the Holy Cross Rectors of Woodstock College Woodstock College alumni Saint Vincent College alumni Xavier High School (New York City) alumni Grand Séminaire de Montréal alumni 19th-century American Jesuits 20th-century American Jesuits Provincial superiors of the Jesuit Maryland Province