John Francis Regis Canevin (June 5, 1853 – March 22, 1927) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

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 ...

. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania from 1904 to 1921.

Biography

Early life

Regis Canevin was born at Beatty in

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Westmoreland County is a county in the state of Pennsylvania, United States, in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census the population was 354,663. The county seat is Greensburg and the most populous community is ...

to Thomas and Rosanna Canevin, on a farm owned by the Sisters of Mercy. After receiving his early education at schools in Beatty, he entered St. Vincent College in 1871 and St. Vincent Seminary in 1875.

Priesthood

Canevin 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 by Bishop John Tuigg on June 4, 1879."Canevin", Right Reverend John Francis Regis", ''The Catholic Encyclopedia and Its Makers'', New York, the Encyclopedia Press, 1917, p. 26
/ref> Canevin's first assignment was as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () 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 who are as ...

at St. Mary's Parish in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of

Pittsburgh 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 ...

, where he remained until 1881. He then served in the same capacity at St. Paul's Cathedral in Pittsburgh for five years. In 1886, Canevin became chaplain at St. Paul's Orphan Asylum and the Western Penitentiary, as well as

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of the mission in

Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Canonsburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, southwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 9,735 at the 2020 census. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 180 ...

. He served as

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the diocese from 1888 until 1893, when he became pastor of St. Philip's ChurchSt. Philip's Church
/ref> in Crafton, Pennsylvania. Canevin was named rector of St. Paul's Cathedral in 1895.

Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Pittsburgh

On January 16, 1903, Canevin was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Pittsburgh and titular bishop of ''

Sabratha Sabratha (; also ''Sabratah'', ''Siburata''), in the Zawiya DistrictPope 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 ...

. He received his episcopal

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

on February 24, 1903, from Archbishop Patrick Ryan, with Bishops John W. Shanahan and Leo Haid serving as

co-consecrators 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 Churche ...

. Upon the death of Bishop Richard Phelan, Canevin automatically succeeded him to become the fifth bishop of Pittsburgh on December 20, 1904. He was the first American and the first native son of the diocese to become bishop. He penned the article on the "Diocese of Pittsburg" for the ''Catholic Encyclopedia''. On January 9, 1921, Pope Benedict XV accepted Canevin's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and appointed him as titular archbishop of ''

Pelusium Pelusium (Ancient Egyptian: ; /, romanized: , or , romanized: ; ; ; ; ) was an important city in the eastern extremes of Egypt's Nile Delta, to the southeast of the modern Port Said. It became a Roman provincial capital and Metropolitan arc ...

''. Regis Canevin died at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh at age 73, and is buried at St. Mary Cemetery in Lawrenceville.

References

External links