Peter Richard Kenrick
Encyclopedia
Peter Richard Kenrick was the first Catholic
archbishop
west of the Mississippi River
.
, who eventually became the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia
, to the United States.
In his early years as a priest in Philadelphia, Father Kenrick wrote several works relating to Catholic theology
and church history
. One of his works, 'Validity of Anglican Ordinations examined', published in 1841, was not challenged for over a century. He held a number of posts in the Philadelphia church, until he was appointed coadjutor bishop of St. Louis, Missouri
in 1841. At the time, the diocese included the entire area of the Louisiana Purchase
, except for Iowa
, Louisiana
, and Minnesota
. In 1847, when the diocese became an archdiocese, he became the first archbishop of the newly-created archdiocese. The city itself would grow almost thirtyfold over the term of his residency.
and actively encouraged the development of Catholicism and Catholic institutions in his diocese. He started a Catholic journal, opened a seminary in the then-independent city of Carondelet, Missouri
, and invited a number of Roman Catholic religious order
s to work in the diocese.
During the period of the American Civil War
and its aftermath, Kenrick maintained a neutral position in a city and state whose residents were of widely divergent opinions on the matter. After the war ended, he urged the priests in his diocese to refuse to take the ironclad oath
which was intended to ensure that no person who had supported the Confederate
position would ever achieve a position of influence, and supported those who did so. One of these priests, the Reverend John A. Cummings, filed the case which the United States Supreme Court heard and prompted them to rule the ironclad oath unconstitutional
.
He took part in the second Plenary Council of Baltimore
, where he advocated that the affairs of the Catholic Church in the United States be handled locally wherever possible. This position earned him a number of detractors and opponents. During the First Vatican Council
, he opposed the centralization of church authority in Rome
and did not support the declaration of the dogma
of Papal infallibility
. When it was defined dogmatically
, he accepted the opinion of the majority. His failure to support this issue increased the number and prominence of his detractors.
made life difficult for him, he turned over the administration of the archdiocese to his coadjutor bishop, Patrick John Ryan
, in 1871. Upon Ryan being made the Archbishop of Philadelphia, the diocese which Kenrick's brother had previously headed, Kenrick took back active administration of his diocese.
During the period when the Knights of Labor
, a strongly Roman Catholic labor union and the first national labor union, turned to violence, Kenrick vocally opposed them and condemned their actions. However, the higher-ranking Cardinal James Gibbons, the Archbishop of Baltimore
, overruled his objections.
In 1893, Kenrick's attempt to name his coadjutor bishop failed when his nominee did not win the support of his fellow bishops. John Joseph Kain
was appointed to fill the role instead. His conflicts and failed communication with Kain lent a note of discord to his final years.
In 1896, he was canonically deposed by Pope Leo XIII because of physical incapacitation due to infirmity (cf canon 401).
He died on March 4, 1896, and is buried in Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis, which is a cemetery Kenrick had himself established on a farm he bought. The seminary of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Kenrick-Glennon Seminary
, formerly known as Kenrick Theological Seminary, is named in his honor.
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
west of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
.
Early life and ordination
He was born and educated in Dublin, Ireland and ordained to the priesthood in 1832. The next year he travelled with his brother, Francis KenrickFrancis Kenrick
Francis Patrick Kenrick was an Irish-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the third Bishop of Philadelphia and the sixth Archbishop of Baltimore .-Early life and education:...
, who eventually became the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well as Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. The diocese was...
, to the United States.
In his early years as a priest in Philadelphia, Father Kenrick wrote several works relating to Catholic theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and church history
History of Christianity
The history of Christianity concerns the Christian religion, its followers and the Church with its various denominations, from the first century to the present. Christianity was founded in the 1st century by the followers of Jesus of Nazareth who they believed to be the Christ or chosen one of God...
. One of his works, 'Validity of Anglican Ordinations examined', published in 1841, was not challenged for over a century. He held a number of posts in the Philadelphia church, until he was appointed coadjutor bishop of St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
in 1841. At the time, the diocese included the entire area of the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
, except for Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. In 1847, when the diocese became an archdiocese, he became the first archbishop of the newly-created archdiocese. The city itself would grow almost thirtyfold over the term of his residency.
Bishop
During his tenure in St. Louis, he visited many parts of the state of MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
and actively encouraged the development of Catholicism and Catholic institutions in his diocese. He started a Catholic journal, opened a seminary in the then-independent city of Carondelet, Missouri
Carondelet, St. Louis
Carondelet is a neighborhood in the extreme southeastern portion of St. Louis, Missouri. It was incorporated as an independent city in 1851 and was annexed by the City of St. Louis in 1870. As of the 2000 Census, the neighborhood has a population of 9,960 people.Originally, the neighborhood was...
, and invited a number of Roman Catholic religious order
Roman Catholic religious order
Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular ; monastics ; mendicants Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular (canons and canonesses regular...
s to work in the diocese.
During the period of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and its aftermath, Kenrick maintained a neutral position in a city and state whose residents were of widely divergent opinions on the matter. After the war ended, he urged the priests in his diocese to refuse to take the ironclad oath
Ironclad oath
The Ironclad Oath was a key factor in the removing of ex-Confederates from the political arena during the Reconstruction of the United States in the 1860s...
which was intended to ensure that no person who had supported the Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
position would ever achieve a position of influence, and supported those who did so. One of these priests, the Reverend John A. Cummings, filed the case which the United States Supreme Court heard and prompted them to rule the ironclad oath unconstitutional
Constitutionality
Constitutionality is the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution. Acts that are not in accordance with the rules laid down in the constitution are deemed to be ultra vires.-See also:*ultra vires*Company law*Constitutional law...
.
He took part in the second Plenary Council of Baltimore
Plenary Councils of Baltimore
The Plenary Councils of Baltimore were three national meetings of Roman Catholic bishops in the 19th century in Baltimore, Maryland.During the early history of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States all of the dioceses were part of one ecclesiastical province under the Archbishop of Baltimore...
, where he advocated that the affairs of the Catholic Church in the United States be handled locally wherever possible. This position earned him a number of detractors and opponents. During the First Vatican Council
First Vatican Council
The First Vatican Council was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This twentieth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, held three centuries after the Council of Trent, opened on 8 December 1869 and adjourned...
, he opposed the centralization of church authority in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and did not support the declaration of the dogma
Dogma
Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
of Papal infallibility
Papal infallibility
Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when in his official capacity he solemnly declares or promulgates to the universal Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals...
. When it was defined dogmatically
Dogmatic definition
In Catholicism, a dogmatic definition is an extraordinary infallible statement published by a pope or an ecumenical council concerning a matter of faith or morals, the belief in which the Catholic Church requires of all Christians .The term most often refers to the infallible...
, he accepted the opinion of the majority. His failure to support this issue increased the number and prominence of his detractors.
Later life
After harassment by his detractors and members of the curiaCuria (Roman Catholic Church)
In Roman Catholicism, a curia consists of a group of officials who assist in the governance of a particular Church. These curias range from the relatively simple diocesan curia, to the larger patriarchal curias, to the Roman Curia, which is the central government of the Catholic Church.Other...
made life difficult for him, he turned over the administration of the archdiocese to his coadjutor bishop, Patrick John Ryan
Patrick John Ryan
Patrick John Ryan was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1884 until his death in 1911.-Early life and education:...
, in 1871. Upon Ryan being made the Archbishop of Philadelphia, the diocese which Kenrick's brother had previously headed, Kenrick took back active administration of his diocese.
During the period when the Knights of Labor
Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor was the largest and one of the most important American labor organizations of the 1880s. Its most important leader was Terence Powderly...
, a strongly Roman Catholic labor union and the first national labor union, turned to violence, Kenrick vocally opposed them and condemned their actions. However, the higher-ranking Cardinal James Gibbons, the Archbishop of Baltimore
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore as well as Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Howard, and Washington Counties in Maryland...
, overruled his objections.
In 1893, Kenrick's attempt to name his coadjutor bishop failed when his nominee did not win the support of his fellow bishops. John Joseph Kain
John Joseph Kain
John Joseph Kain was a Roman Catholic priest who would eventually become Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis, and the first native-born American to hold that office.-Biography:...
was appointed to fill the role instead. His conflicts and failed communication with Kain lent a note of discord to his final years.
In 1896, he was canonically deposed by Pope Leo XIII because of physical incapacitation due to infirmity (cf canon 401).
He died on March 4, 1896, and is buried in Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis, which is a cemetery Kenrick had himself established on a farm he bought. The seminary of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Kenrick-Glennon Seminary
Kenrick-Glennon Seminary
Kenrick–Glennon Seminary is a private not-for-profit Roman Catholic Seminary located in Shrewsbury, Missouri in St. Louis County. The Seminary is named after Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick and Cardinal John J. Glennon, former Archbishops of Saint Louis. The Seminary traces its origins to the...
, formerly known as Kenrick Theological Seminary, is named in his honor.
External links
- Find A Grave for Peter Richard Kenrick
- Christensen, Lawrence O., et al., Dictionary of Missouri Biography. Columbia, MO and London:University of Missouri Press, 1999. ISBN 0-8262-1222-0
- Francis Kenrick and Peter Richard Kenrick