James Whelan (bishop)
Right Rev. James Whelan, O.P. | |
---|---|
Bishop of Nashville | |
Church | Roman Catholic Church |
See | Nashville |
In office | February 21, 1860 – February 12, 1864 |
Predecessor | Richard Pius Miles, O.P. |
Successor | Patrick Feehan |
Orders | |
Ordination | August 2, 1846 |
Consecration | May 8, 1859 |
Personal details | |
Born | Kilkenny, Ireland | December 8, 1823
Died | February 18, 1878 Zanesville, Ohio, U.S. | (aged 54)
Previous post(s) | Coadjutor Bishop of Nashville (1859–1860) |
James Whelan, O.P. (December 8, 1823 – February 18, 1878) was the second Roman Catholic Bishop of Nashville (1860–1864).
Biography[]
Whelan was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, and moved with his parents to the United States at age 10 or 12, settling in New York.[1] He joined the Dominican Order in 1839 at the novitiate in Springfield, Kentucky, and made his profession in 1842.[1] After studying philosophy and theology at the Dominican convent at Somerset, Ohio, he was ordained a priest by Bishop John Baptist Purcell on August 2, 1846.[2] He then worked as a missionary before serving as president of St. Joseph's College in Somerset from 1852-54, when he became provincial superior of St. Joseph's Province (which included all the United States except the Pacific Coast).[1]
On April 15, 1859, Whelan was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Nashville, Tennessee, and Titular Bishop of Marcopolis by Pope Pius IX.[2] He received his episcopal consecration on the following May 8 from Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick, with Bishops John Baptiste Miège, S.J., and Henry Damian Juncker serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of St. Louis.[2] He succeeded Richard Pius Miles, O.P., as Bishop of Nashville upon the latter's death on February 21, 1860.[2] He enlarged the cathedral and established an academy, boarding school, and orphanage.[1]
As a border state, Tennessee was the scene of some of the most severe battles during the Civil War (1861–1865).[3] While passing through the lines after a visit with Bishop Martin John Spalding at Louisville, Whelan was accused of making remarks within Union lines which the Confederates thought had influenced the movements of the Union Army.[1] These reproaches, combined with the sufferings, struggles, and sorrows of war, proved too much for Whelan, who resigned as Bishop on February 12, 1864; he was immediately named Titular Bishop of Diocletianopolis in Palaestina.[2]
Whelan briefly retired to St. Joseph's Convent before taking up residence at St. Thomas Church in Zanesville.[1] He devoted his time to theological, historical, and chemical studies, and published a defense of papal infallibility in 1871.[3] He died on February 18, 1878, aged 54, in Zanesville, Ohio.[citation needed]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Clarke, Richard Henry. Lives of the Deceased Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Bishop James Whelan, O.P." Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Former Bishops of the Diocese of Nashville". Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville. Archived from the original on 2012-02-16.
Episcopal succession[]
- 1823 births
- 1878 deaths
- Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923)
- People from County Kilkenny
- American Dominicans
- 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States
- American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent
- Roman Catholic bishops of Nashville