Leo Haid (July 15, 1849 – July 24, 1924) was an American

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

and

Catholic bishop In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an Holy orders in the Catholic Church, ordained Minister (Catholic Church), minister who holds the fullness of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teachin ...

, who served as the abbot of the Abbey of Mary Help of Christians, in Belmont, North Carolina, from 1885 to 1924. He also served as

vicar apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of North Carolina from 1888 to 1910 and territorial abbot from 1910 to 1924.

Biography

Early life

Michael Haid was born on July 15, 1849, near

Latrobe, Pennsylvania Latrobe ( ) is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,060 as of the 2020 census. A part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, it is located near Pennsylvania's scenic Chestnut Ridge. Latrobe was incorpo ...

, to German immigrants John and Mary A. Stader Haid. He studied at

Saint Vincent Seminary Saint Vincent Seminary is a Catholic seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Boniface Wimmer in 1846, who came from Saint Michael's Abbey in Metten, Bavaria, to establish Saint Vincent Archabbey as the first Benedictine monastery ...

in Latrobe and there became a

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

of the Benedictine Archabbey of Saint Vincent in 1868. He made first profession as a monk on September 17, 1869. He adopted the first name of Leo.

Priesthood

Haid was ordained a priest by Bishop Michael Domenec for the Benedictine Order on December 21, 1872. He then served the monastery college as a professor and chaplain. On July 13, 1885, Haid was elected as first abbot of Mary Help of Christians Abbey (known as Belmont Abbey) in

Belmont, North Carolina Belmont is a small Suburb, suburban city in Gaston County, North Carolina, United States, located about east of Gastonia, North Carolina, Gastonia. The population was 10,076 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. Once known as Garibaldi ...

. Travelling there in 1886, he founded a seminary at the abbey.

Vicar Apostolic of North Carolina

On February 4, 1888,

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

appointed Haid as apostolic vicar of North Carolina; he was consecrated bishop at the Baltimore Cathedral by Archbishop Cardinal

James Gibbons James Cardinal Gibbons (July 23, 1834 – March 24, 1921) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Apostolic Vicar of North Carolina from 1868 to 1872, Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as Archbishop of Baltimore from 1877 unti ...

on July 1, 1888, The co-consecrators were Bishops John Kain and Thomas Becker. Haid became the first American abbot-bishop. Haid served as president of the American Cassinese Congregation from 1890 to 1902 and was a prominent authority on

monastic life Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

in the United States. He helped establish and supervise the

Benedictine College Preparatory Benedictine College Preparatory is a private Catholic military high school in Goochland, Virginia. It is owned and operated by the Benedictine Society of Virginia, part of the American-Cassinese Congregation. Benedictine offers education throug ...

in Richmond, Virginia, the

Savannah Priory The Benedictine Priory of Savannah is a Catholic monastery of Benedictine monks located in Savannah, Georgia. The priory was founded in 1877, and is a dependency of Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and thereby belongs to the Amer ...

in Savannah, Georgia and St Leo University in St. Leo, Florida. On August 27, 1899, Haid dedicated St. Nicholas' Catholic Church in Zanesville, Ohio. In 1909, Haid laid the cornerstone of the St. Mary Catholic Church in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Territorial Abbot of Belmont

On June 8, 1910

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

erected Belmont Abbey as a territorial abbey and appointed Haid as abbot ''nullius'', with canonical jurisdiction over eight counties in North Carolina (

Gaston Gaston is a masculine given name of French origin and a surname. The name "Gaston" may refer to: People First name *Gaston I, Count of Foix (1287–1315) * Gaston II, Count of Foix (1308–1343) *Gaston III, Count of Foix (1331–1391) *Gaston ...

, Catawba, Cleveland,

Burke Burke (; ) is a Normans in Ireland, Norman-Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (''circa'' 1160–1206) had the surname'' de B ...

, Lincoln, McDowell, Polk, and Rutherford).

Death and legacy

Leo Haid died at Belmont Abbey on July 24, 1924, at age 75, and was buried in the abbey cemetery. Haid Theater at

Belmont Abbey College Belmont Abbey College is a private, Catholic liberal arts college in Belmont, North Carolina. It was founded in 1876 by the Benedictine monks of Belmont Abbey. The college is affiliated with the Catholic Church and the Order of Saint Benedict. ...

is named after Leo Haid.

References

Sources

Territorial Abbey of Belmont-Mary Help of Christians on Catholic-Hierarchy.org
*Anthony D. Andreassi "Leo Michael Haid" in Michael Glazier and Thomas J. Shelley (eds.) ''The Encyclopedia of American Catholic History'' The Liturgical Press: Collegeville, Minnesota 1997. *Paschal Baumstein ''My Lord of Belmont: A Biography of Leo Haid'' Belmont, NC 1985. {{DEFAULTSORT:Haid, Leo 1849 births 1924 deaths People from Latrobe, Pennsylvania American people of German descent American Benedictines American abbots Belmont Abbey College faculty Saint Leo University 20th-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops People from Belmont, North Carolina Religious leaders from North Carolina Catholics from Pennsylvania Catholics from North Carolina 19th-century Christian abbots 20th-century Christian abbots