Joseph Rodgers (25 March 1903 – 10 July 1966) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

who served as

Bishop of Killaloe The Bishop of Killaloe ( ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the town of Killaloe in County Clare, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bish ...

between 1955 and 1966.

Early life

Rodgers was born in Liss, in the parish of Killanena,

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

, on 25 March 1903. He attended secondary school in

St Flannan's College Saint Flannan's College is an Irish co-educational secondary school located in Ennis, County Clare, which takes its name from the 7th century patron saint of the Dál gCais. Formerly an all-boys boarding school, the first girls class was entere ...

between 1915 and 1920. Rodgers entered

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland ...

in September 1920, and was ordained to the priesthood in the College Chapel,

Maynooth Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick ...

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the ...

, on 19 June 1927.

Presbyteral ministry

Following his ordination, Rodgers returned to

as a teacher. He also obtained a

Doctorate in Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are r ...

Episcopal ministry

Coadjutor Bishop of Killaloe

Rodgers was named

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "c ...

of Killaloe and

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 a ...

Sebela Sebela was an Ancient city and bishopric in Asia Minor and remains a Latin Catholic titular see. History Sebela, identified with modern Kestelyalasi in present Anatolia (Asian Turkey), was among the cities in the Roman province of Isauria of en ...

on 10 January 1948, and was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

by the Archbishop of Cashel-Emly,

Jeremiah Kinane Jeremiah Kinane (1884–1959) was an Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, then Coadjutor Archbishop of Cashel & Emly until when he became the Metropolitan Archbishop of Cashel & Eml ...

, on 7 March in the Pro-Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul,

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

. During his coadjutorship, he lived at Ashline House on the Kilrush Road in Ennis, which had been made available for him by the incumbent, Michael Fogarty, by means of an eviction.

Bishop of Killaloe

Following the death of Fogarty on 25 October 1955, Rodgers succeeded him as

on 29 October. He participated in all four sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

Clonlara affair controversy

In May 1956, two members of

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved ...

were attacked in Doonass, near

Clonlara Clonlara, officially Cloonlara (), is a village in County Clare, Ireland, and a Roman Catholic parish of the same name. Village and parish Clonlara is in the east of County Clare in the civil parish of Kiltonanlea or Doonass, barony of Tulla ...

, which led to a district court case in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

at which local

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

Fr. Patrick Ryan and nine of his parishioners were charged with assaulting the two members and maliciously damaging

IR£ The pound (Irish: ) was the currency of the Republic of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the symbol was £ (or IR£ for distinction). The Irish pound was replaced by the euro on 1 January 1999. Euro currency did not begin cir ...

3 worth of books, Bibles and other literature being distributed by them. All charges made against Ryan and his parishioners were dropped, in part due to an intervention on the part of Rodgers, who was present at the trial. The presiding judge declared that the two Jehovah’s Witnesses had been "guilty of blasphemy", and that they had "come into this village f Clonlaraand attack and outrage all that these simple Irishmen hold dear. I think the two men were lucky to escape so lightly." Rodgers was so outraged by the whole affair that he wrote to the then

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the offi ...

John A. Costello John Aloysius Costello (20 June 1891 – 5 January 1976) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957, Leader of the Opposition (Ireland), Leader of the Opposition from 1951 to 1954 and from 1 ...

, expressing his anger that the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

could proceed with the case "against one of is priestsfor upholding and defending the fundamental truths of our treasured Catholic faith", given the "pernicious and blasphemous literature distributed and sold in isdiocese" by the two members. While Costello was not unmindful of "the just indignation aroused among the clergy and the people by the activities of the Jehovah’s Witnesses", he insisted that the law had to be upheld.

Death and burial

Rodgers took a walk in the garden of his Westbourne residence in Ennis on the evening of 10 July 1966, but suffered a heart attack and was found dead the following morning. He is buried in the grounds of the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul,

References

External links

Bishop Joseph Rodgers
on

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The website is not officially sanctioned by the Church. It is run as a private project by David M. Cheney in Ka ...

Bishop Joseph Rodgers
on GCatholic {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, Joseph 1903 births 1966 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Roman Catholic bishops of Killaloe People educated at St Flannan's College Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth People from County Clare