Philip R. McDevitt
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
of the Roman Catholic Church
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...
. He served as Bishop of Harrisburg
Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg covers 15 counties of South Central Pennsylvania: Adams, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Snyder, Union and York. The seat of the bishop is in St...
from 1916 until his death in 1935.
Biography
Philip McDevitt was born in PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, to Richard and Mary Ann (née Dinneney) McDevitt. After graduating from La Salle College High School
La Salle College High School
La Salle College High School founded in 1858 is an independent, Catholic, college preparatory school for boys located in Wyndmoor, a community in Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, outside Philadelphia. The school is staffed by a lay faculty and the Christian...
in 1877, he studied at La Salle College
La Salle University
La Salle University is a private, co-educational, Roman Catholic university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. Named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, the school was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. As of 2008 the school has approximately 7,554...
and St. Charles Borromeo Seminary
St. Charles Borromeo Seminary
St. Charles Borromeo Seminary is the seminary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Named for Charles Borromeo, it is located in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania,...
. He was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
to the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
by Archbishop 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:...
on July 14, 1885. He served as a curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
at the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Port Richmond, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Port Richmond, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Port Richmond, also referred to as simply Richmond, is a neighborhood in the Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is notable for its extremely large Polish immigrant and Polish American community. The neighborhood is also home to sizable Irish, German and Italian communities as...
before becoming superintendent
Superintendent (education)
In education in the United States, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization....
of Catholic school
Catholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
s in the 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...
in 1899. In this position, he gained a national reputation as an educator and administrator. He was raised to the rank of a Domestic Prelate
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
by Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X
Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...
on July 16, 1910.
On July 10, 1916, McDevitt was appointed the fourth Bishop of Harrisburg
Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg covers 15 counties of South Central Pennsylvania: Adams, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Snyder, Union and York. The seat of the bishop is in St...
by Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV , born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, reigned as Pope from 3 September 1914 to 22 January 1922...
. He received his episcopal
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
consecration
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
on the following September 21 from Archbishop Edmond Francis Prendergast
Edmond Francis Prendergast
Edmond Francis Prendergast was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1911 until his death in 1918.-Biography:...
, with Bishops John Joseph McCort
John Joseph McCort
John Joseph McCort was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Altoona, Pennsylvania, from 1920 until his death in 1936.-Biography:...
and John Edmund Fitzmaurice
John Edmund Fitzmaurice
John Edmund Fitzmaurice was the fourth Roman Catholic Bishop of Erie .Fitzmaurice was born in Newtown-Sandes, County Kerry, and began studying law at age fifteen. In 1858 he came to the United States, where he began his studies for the priesthood at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook,...
serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
. During his 19-year-long tenure, he established ten parishes
Parish (Catholic Church)
In the Roman Catholic Church, a parish is the lowest ecclesiastical geographical subdivision: from ecclesiastical province to diocese to deanery to parish.-Requirements:A parish needs two things under common law to become a parish...
and twelve schools. In 1925 he created the Mission Board to respond to financial needs caused by the Great Depression
Great Depression in the United States
The Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement...
. He also served as chairman
Chair (official)
The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...
of the Catholic Press Department within the National Catholic Welfare Conference
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference, it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic...
, and president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the American Catholic Historical Association
American Catholic Historical Association
The American Catholic Historical Association was founded by Peter Guilday in Cleveland, Ohio, in December, 1919 as a national society that would bring together scholars interested in the history of the Catholic Church or in Catholic aspects of secular history...
.
McDevitt later died at age 77, and is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery
Holy Cross Cemetery
Holy Cross Cemetery may refer to:*Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York, New York, USA*Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma, California, USA*Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, USA*Holy Cross Cemetery, Detroit, Michigan, USA...
in Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
. Bishop McDevitt High School
Bishop McDevitt High School (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)
Bishop McDevitt High School is a private, coeducational Catholic high school of the Diocese of Harrisburg, located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. The school was founded in 1918 and renamed in 1957 to honor the memory of the Most Reverend Philip R. McDevitt, fourth bishop of Harrisburg...
in Harrisburg and Bishop McDevitt High School
Bishop McDevitt High School (Wyncote, Pennsylvania)
Bishop McDevitt High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in the Wyncote community in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia.-Background:...
in Wyncote
Wyncote, Pennsylvania
Wyncote is a census-designated place in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,044 at the 2010 census...
are both named in his honor.