Dennis Joseph Dougherty | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Cardinal, Archbishop of Philadelphia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Dougherty,c. 1918 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Church | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Archdiocese | Philadelphia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appointed | May 1, 1918 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Term ended | May 31, 1951 (his death) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Edmond Francis Prendergast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | John Francis O'Hara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Previous posts |
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| Orders | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ordination | May 31, 1890 by Lucido Parocchi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consecration | June 14, 1903 by Francesco Satolli | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created cardinal | March 7, 1921 byPope Benedict XV | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest ofSanti Nereo e Achilleo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1865-08-16)August 16, 1865 Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | May 31, 1951(1951-05-31) (aged 85) Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motto | Crucis in Signo Vinces (You will conquer in the sign of the cross) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ordination history | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Styles of Dennis Joseph Dougherty | |
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| Reference style | |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Religious style | Cardinal |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
Dennis Joseph Dougherty (August 16, 1865 – May 31, 1951) was anAmerican Catholic prelate who served asarchbishop of Philadelphia from 1918 until his death in 1951. He was made acardinal in 1921. He was Philadelphia's longest-serving archbishop and its first cardinal.
Dougherty previously served asbishop of Buffalo from 1915 to 1918, and bishop of theDiocese of Jaro (1903–1908) andDiocese of Nueva Segovia (1908–1915) in thePhilippines.
Dennis Dougherty was born on August 16, 1865, in the Homesville section ofButler Township inSchuylkill County, Pennsylvania.[2] Nicknamed "Dinny" by his parents, he was the sixth of ten children of Patrick and Bridget (née Henry) Dougherty, who were natives ofCounty Mayo in Ireland.[3][4] The family lived in theCoal Region of Pennsylvania, with Dougherty's father working as acoal miner and Dougherty himself spending his summer vacations as abreaker boy in the mines.[5] As there was no Catholic church or parochial school in Homesville, the family worshiped at St. Joseph's Church in nearbyGirardville, Pennsylvania, and Dougherty attended public school there as well.[6]
At age 14, having decided to become a priest, Dougherty applied to enterSt. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He passed the entrance examination, but was denied admission due to his young age.[7] On the advice of his pastor in Girardville, Dougherty enrolled instead at theCollège Sainte-Marie inMontreal, Quebec, where he studied under theJesuits for two years.[8]
In 1881, Dougherty reapplied to St. Charles Borromeo and now was accepted, allowed to skip the first two years of instruction.[6] He remained at the seminary until 1885, when ArchbishopPatrick John Ryan sent him to Rome to continue his studies at thePontifical North American College inRome.[5] The faculty considered Dougherty as such an outstanding student that ProfessorFrancesco Satolli on one occasion waved him away from an examination room, saying, "Consider yourself examined."[9] In 1890, Dougherty received aDoctor of Divinity degree.[7]
While in Rome, Dougherty was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on May 31, 1890, by CardinalLucido Parocchi at theArchbasilica of Saint John Lateran.[5][10] Dougherty celebrated his firstMass the next day at the altar of theChair of Saint Peter atSt. Peter's Basilica.[2]
Upon his return to Philadelphia in the summer of 1890, the archdiocese added Dougherty to the faculty of St. Charles Borromeo as a professor of Latin, English, and history.[11] Over the next 13 years, he also taught Greek, French, and Hebrew before being promoted to the chair ofdogmatic theology.[2]
As a professor, Dougherty was known to be "a severe taskmaster" who lectured almost entirely in Latin.[12] He also established a reputation as a scholar with his translation into English of the works of the Italian archeologistOrazio Marucchi and his publication of a series of articles onAnglican ordinations.[2] TheCatholic University of America offered Dougherty the chair of dogmatic theology but Archbishop Ryan refused to let him leave St. Charles Borromeo.[13]
On April 7, 1903, Dougherty was notified of his appointment asbishop of Nueva Segovia in thePhilippines.[14] The United States had occupied the Philippines during theSpanish-American War of 1898. The1898 Treaty of Paris had rejected Filipino independence, fueling thePhilippine–American War of 1899 to 1902. During this conflict, the Filipino priestGregorio Aglipay broke with Vatican and founded the nationalistPhilippine Independent Church, taking over Catholic properties in that nation. After the insurgency ended with an American victory in 1902,Pope Leo XIII appointed Dougherty and three other American bishops to administer the Filipino dioceses.[15]
Dougherty received his episcopal consecration on June 14, 1903, from now Cardinal Satolli with CardinalPietro Gasparri and Archbishop Enrico Grazioli serving as co-consecrators, at the church ofSanti Giovanni e Paolo al Celio in Rome.[2] Dougherty then returned to Philadelphia and recruited five priests to join him in the Philippines, includingDaniel James Gercke andJohn Bernard MacGinley.[16] The bishop and his priests sailed from Philadelphia on August 24, 1903 and arrived at the diocesan seat inVigan in the Philippines on October 22.[16]
The Philippine–American War had left many Catholic institutions in the Philippines in a state of disrepair. In addition, Aglipay and his supporters still controlled several church properties, including theCathedral of Vigan.[4] The Filipinos were resentful of the American occupation and wanted their own bishops. As a result, Dougherty received a cold welcom. In September 1904, BishopThomas Augustine Hendrick told US PresidentTheodore Roosevelt that "three attempts have been made to murder Bishop Dougherty of Vigan..."[17] To regain the church properties in Nueva Segovia, Dougherty got a court order forcing Aglipay to relinquish them. Dougherty then made house-to-house visits in Vigan to solicit funds to repair the cathedral.[18]
Dougherty reopened the diocesan seminary in 1904, which had been occupied by American troops during the insurgency, and staffed it with the Jesuits.[19] A girls' academy was also reopened under the care of theSisters of Saint Paul of Chartres, who established a second academy inTuguegarao,[2] Dougherty toured the diocese on horseback and by canoe,confirming as many as 70,000 children in his travels.[4]
Following the death of BishopFrederick Z. Rooker, Pope Pius X named Dougherty as bishop of Jaro on June 21, 1908.[5] Jaro had a Catholic population of 1.3 million, but only half of the 151 churches had resident pastors.[2] During his tenure in Jaro, Dougherty managed to find pastors for 41 churches while also establishing six new parishes and converting 12 missions into parishes.[7] He opened a hospital staffed by the Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres, who had worked with him in Nueva Segovia.[20] To combat the efforts of Protestant missionaries in the diocese, Dougherty operated a movie theater where the price of admission was aProtestant Bible.[12]
After the Vatican appointedSan Francisco's auxiliary bishopDenis J. O'Connell as bishopof Richmond in 1912, ArchbishopPatrick William Riordan sought acoadjutor bishop for the archdiocese. His first choice was Dougherty, whom he had met in 1903 during a stopover in San Francisco en route to the Philippines.[21] Dougherty wanted the appointment, but it was vetoed by CardinalRafael Merry del Val, who believed that Dougherty was needed more in the Philippines.[21]
After 12 years in the Philippines, Dougherty's health was beginning to fail in early 1915; he requested that the Vatican reassign him to the United States.[4][22] BishopCharles H. Colton of theDiocese of Buffalo had died in May 1915, followed by ArchbishopJames Edward Quigley of theArchdiocese of Chicago in July 1915.Pope Benedict XV initially wanted to send Dougherty to Chicago and BishopGeorge Mundelein to Buffalo.[23] However, these plans changed when the British government heard about the Vatican's intentions. Fighting theGerman Empire inWorld War I, Britain reportedly objected to having Mundelein, an American citizen of German descent, stationed in Buffalo, which was on the Canadian border.[23][24] To placate the British, Benedict XV allegedly switched the appointments by sending Mundelein to Chicago and naming Dougherty as bishop of Buffalo on December 9, 1915.[5]
Dougherty formally took charge of his new diocese on June 7, 1916, when he was installed atSt. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo[25] At the time of Dougherty's arrival, the diocese was burdened with a debt of $1.6 million from the construction of the new cathedral.[7] Dougherty almost eliminated that debt by taxing the diocese's parishes according to their means.[26] During his tenure, he also established 15 new parishes. After the United States entered World War I in 1917, Dougherty supported the war effort throughliberty bond campaigns to fund the war effort andRed Cross drives.[2]
Following the death of ArchbishopEdmond Francis Prendergast, Dougherty was appointed archbishop of Philadelphia by Benedict XV on May 1, 1918.[5] Dougherty was installed on July 10, 1918, at theCathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in a ceremony presided over by CardinalJames Gibbons.[27]
Similar to his time as a seminary professor, Dougherty was known as the "strictest disciplinarian...[who] rules his clergy with an iron hand, insists on punctuality, obedience, deference."[4] He was also known as "God's Bricklayer"[28] for his massive expansion of the archdiocese. During his 33-year tenure in Philadelphia, the number of Catholics in the archdiocese increased from approximately 710,000 to 1,031,866; priests from 779 to 1,910; religious sisters from 3,884 to 6,819; churches from 327 to 397; hospitals from six to 18; parochial schools from 180 to 325; high schools from three to 56; and colleges from three to seven.[2] Among the colleges founded in the archdiocese during his tenure wereImmaculata University in East Whitland Township (1920),Rosemont College in Rosemont (1921),Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia (1924), andGwynedd Mercy University in Lower Gwynedd Township (1948).
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Very early into Dougherty's tenure as archbishop, the1918 influenza pandemic struck Philadelphia. More than 17,500 Philadelphians died in the first six months of the pandemic, with a single-day high of 837 deaths.[29] ThePhiladelphia Liberty Loans Parade, held nearly three months after Dougherty's arrival, resulted in 12,000 deaths alone.[30]
To deal with the crisis, Dougherty authorized the use of church facilities as temporary hospitals.[31] Many nuns worked as nurses and Dougherty asked for volunteer gravediggers among the students at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.[32] In compliance with the Pennsylvania State Board of Health's order in October 1918, Dougherty closed all churches and schools to public gatherings.[33] When the pandemic subsided, Philadelphia MayorThomas B. Smith expressed his gratitude to Dougherty by saying,
"I look upon the services rendered by the Archbishop and the nuns as one of the most potent aids in making the headway we have toward getting control of the epidemic."[34]
On February 13, 1921, the Vatican announced thatBenedict XV would elevate Dougherty to theCollege of Cardinals.[2] Dougherty was createdcardinal-priest of theBasilica of Santi Nereo e Achilleo in Rome during theconsistory of March 7, 1921.[5] He was the first archbishop of Philadelphia to serve as a cardinal, beginning a tradition that would last for 90 years.[35] As a cardinal, Dougherty served as a member of thecongregations forDiscipline of the Sacraments, forRites, forPropagation of the Faith, and forOriental Churches.[4]
Dougherty was unable to participate in his firstpapal conclave. He was touring theWest Indies when Benedict XV died on January 22, 1922.[36] After quickly returning to Philadelphia, he sailed from New York City to Europe with CardinalLouis-Nazaire Bégin ofQuebec on January 28th. However, Dougherty noted that he did not expect to arrive in time for the start of the conclave on February 2nd.[37] Their ship was delayed by severe storms, and the two cardinals received news of the election ofPope Pius XI while at sea.[38] After finally arriving in Rome on February 9th, Dougherty was granted a private audience with the new pope, who had relatives living inBloomsburg, Pennsylvania.[2][39] After the death ofPope Pius XI, Dougherty was able toparticipate in the1939 conclave that electedPope Pius XII.[40]
Dougherty, whose entire time as a priest was spent in teaching, insisted on the establishment of a parochial school at every parish.[41] He frequently threatened to suspend priests who were unwilling to follow this directive, believing,
"A parochial school is a necessity, especially in this country where our children breathe in an atmosphere of heresy, unbelief, and sometimes irreligion...Priests and parents are bound to provide a religious education for children."[42]
In an address to the graduating class ofVillanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania, in June 1921, Dougherty denounced plans for a federalDepartment of Education, saying, "We give notice that we will never permit our Catholic schools to be controlled by a clique of politicians in Washington."[43]
To offset the intensifying efforts of Protestant evangelization among Italian Philadelphians, Dougherty introduced Italian classes at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and placed priests who had studied in Rome at Italian churches.[44] However, he also discouraged Italian religious festivals like theFeast of San Gennaro, which were popular elsewhere in the country, to encourage assimilation.[45] Tensions between Dougherty and the Italian Catholic community reached a high point in 1933, when the cardinal's plan to close the Italian parish of Our Lady of Good Counsel inSouth Philadelphia sparked a riot.[46] On the eve of the parish's closure, thousands of parishioners occupied the church and even held a priest hostage for five months.[46] The congregation took the case to theSupreme Court of Pennsylvania but lost, and Dougherty finally closed the church in 1937.[46]
From 1921 until his death in 1951, Dougherty served as president of theCommission for the Catholic Missions among the Colored People and the Indians.[47] He encouraged the work of MotherKatharine Drexel among Native Americans and African Americans, and once wrote,
"Perhaps the greatest problem confronting the nation is that of the colored race, who were brought here as slaves and have been abandoned to their fate."[48]
In 1923, Dougherty declared that elementary school admissions would be based on parish residence, regardless of race, ending a policy of segregating African-American children to schools in predominantly African-American parishes.[49] The following year he established Holy Savior Parish (now St. Ignatius) inWest Philadelphia, where theSisters of the Blessed Sacrament also opened a convent in 1925.[50] Holy Redeemer Parish for Chinese Catholics was opened in 1941.[51]
In May 1934, Dougherty forbid Catholics in the archdiocese from entering movie theaters. He declared that the film industry's focus on "sex and crime" was a "vicious and insidious attack...on the very foundations of our Christian civilization."[52] He added: "The only argument likely to be heard now is that which affects the box office."[52] As a result, ticket sales in the archdiocese soon dropped by 20 to 40 percent.[52][28]
Due to the decrease in box office revenue, many studio executives and other public figures begged Dougherty to end the boycott, including the producerSamuel Goldwyn and the Philadelphia politicianJohn B. Kelly Sr.[53] Dougherty twice refused to arrange a meeting withHarry Warner, the president ofWarner Bros.[54] Dougherty never revoked his ban, but over time Catholics in the archdiocese started ignoring it. In June 1934, one Philadelphia Catholic,Joseph Breen, was appointed to head the newly createdProduction Code Administration and apply theHays Code, a set of censorship rules, to American film production.[52]
According to an official history of the archdiocese, Dougherty "reserved the appointment of pastors to himself, though a powerful intercessor could of course help."[55] A 2005 grand jury report included at least two priests during Dougherty's tenure (1918–1951) who were accused ofsexual abuse andtransferred to other parishes:
During the1948 US presidential election, Dougherty gave the invocation at theRepublican National Convention and later theDemocratic National Convention, both of which were held in Philadelphia.[58] In February 1949, he held his first press conference since becoming a cardinal in 1921 to denounce the treatment of CardinalJózsef Mindszenty by the communist government of Hungary. Dougherty labeled the trial a "mockery of justice."[2]
On the morning of May 31, 1951, shortly after celebrating a private Mass marking the 61st anniversary of his priestly ordination, Dougherty died from astroke at his residence in Philadelphia.[59] Hisfuneral Mass was celebrated by BishopJ. Carroll McCormick, Dougherty's nephew and an auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia.[5] Dougherty is buried in the crypt of theCathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.[5]
Cardinal Dougherty High School in Philadelphia was named in his honor.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
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| Preceded by José Hevía y Campomanes | Bishop of Nueva Segovia 1903–1908 | Succeeded by James Jordan Carroll |
| Preceded by Frederick Zadok Rooker | Bishop of Jaro 1908–1915 | Succeeded by Maurice Patrick Foley |
| Preceded by | Bishop of Buffalo 1915–1918 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Archbishop of Philadelphia 1918–1951 | Succeeded by |
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