James Holly | |
|---|---|
 Bishop Jack Holly | |
| Bishop of Haiti, and of the Dominican Republic | |
| Born | James Theodore Holly (1829-10-03)October 3, 1829 Washington, D.C., U.S.A. |
| Died | March 13, 1911(1911-03-13) (aged 81) Port-au-Prince,Haiti Interred at St. Vincent's Home, Port-au-Prince |
| Venerated in | Episcopal Church (United States) |
| Feast | 13 March |
James Theodore Augustus Holly (3 October 1829 inWashington, D.C. – 13 March 1911 inPort-au-Prince,Haiti) was the first African-American bishop in theProtestant Episcopal church, and spent most of his episcopal career as missionarybishop of Haiti.
Holly's parents were freed slaves of African descent, and he was born and raised in Washington, D.C. He attended public and private schools. Holly was raisedCatholic.[1]
When he was 14, he moved with his parents toBrooklyn, New York, and his father taught him to be a shoemaker. While in the national capital and New York City, Holly met several prominent abolitionists, includingFrederick Douglass, and by 1848 was working withLewis Tappan. In 1850, he and his brother Joseph opened their own bootmaking shop.[2]
In 1851 Holly married his wife Charlotte and also withdrew from the Catholic Church because it refused to ordain black priests. They joined theProtestant Episcopal Church in 1852. The young family soon moved toWindsor, Ontario, across fromDetroit, where Holly helpedHenry Bibb as associate editor of theVoice of the Fugitive, a weekly paper. Holly helped organize theAmherstburg Convention of free blacks in Canada. In 1854, Holly returned to the United States to become principal of a public school inBuffalo, New York.[citation needed]
He also attended the firstNational Emigration Convention inCleveland that year as an Episcopalian, and became a commissioner of the National Emigration Board.[2] Afterward, Holly traveled to Haiti for the first time, to explore possible emigration options there for free blacks. Holly knew that theAmerican Colonization Society had supported the emigration of 6,000 African Americans to Haiti beginning in 1824, but that many had returned because of harsh conditions on the island. Holly believed that free blacks could avoid rampant discrimination by emigrating to Haiti, which had thrown off its colonial rulers, as well as that such emigration would help stabilize the society on the island of Hispaniola, which had experienced many coups. Although he many times requested a commission from the Board of Missions of the Episcopal Church to serve in Haiti, each was denied.[3]
Holly studiedtheology and received holy orders. Ordered a deacon on 17 June 1855 at St. Mathew's Church inDetroit, he was ordained a priest on 2 January 1856 inNew Haven, Connecticut. Meanwhile, Holly co-founded the Protestant Episcopal Society for Promoting the Extension of the Church Among Colored People, which worked to have the General Convention adopt a position against slavery and eventually became theUnion of Black Episcopalians.[citation needed]
Holly served as rector of St. Luke's Church,New Haven, Connecticut, from 1856 until 1861, during which time he made several trips to Haiti, the world's first black republic. In 1857, he published a series of lectures asVindication of the Capacity of the Negro Race for Self Governance and Civilized Progress and in 1859 he lobbied CongressmanFrank Blair for funds to establish the emigrant colony. However, that was denied, and the Board of Missions also denied his fund-raising requests.[4]
Holly resigned his position in New Haven in 1861, in order to lead 110 African Americans and Canadians to Haiti. Two weeks after his arrival, on June 13, 1861, President Geffrard signed a document declaring Holly a Haitian citizen.[5] However,yellow fever,typhoid,malaria and poor living conditions plagued the emigrants. Holly lost his mother, wife and two of his children, among the forty-three prospective settlers who died during the first year. Many of the emigrants returned to the United States, despite theAmerican Civil War.[citation needed]
Nonetheless, Holly remained in Haiti with his two sons and other dedicated American emigrants. By 1863, they established Holy Trinity Church and schools, and soon other churches as well as pastoral training and rural medicine programs.[3] The Board of Missions began financially supporting the mission in 1865. Holly also served as consul forLiberia at Port-au-Prince from 1864 until 1874.[citation needed]
In that year Holly both received aD.D. fromHoward University, Washington, D.C., and was consecrated as missionary bishop of Haiti by the American Church Missionary Society, an Evangelical Episcopal faction, in a ceremony atGrace Episcopal Church in New York. Presiding BishopBenjamin Bosworth Smith presided over the ceremony, with the participation of his future successorAlbert Lee and New York bishopHoratio Potter. Holly became the denomination's first African American ever consecrated, and only the second Black person to become a bishop in a major Protestant Christian denomination.[citation needed]
In 1878, Holly traveled toEngland as a delegate to theLambeth Conference, but spent most of the rest of his life within his diocese, on the island of Hispaniola. He received the honorary legal degree (LL.D.) fromLiberia College,Monrovia,Liberia in 1882. Holly also contributed reviews to theChurch, theChurch Eclectic, and theAfrican Methodist Church. In 1897, Holly both publishedFACTS ABOUT THE CHURCH'S MISSION IN HAITI,[6] and was also named bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Dominican Republic (two years before the assassination of GeneralUlises Heureaux, who had brought relative peace to that portion of the island).[citation needed]
Jack Holly died in his diocese, at Port-au-Prince, Haiti on March 13, 1911, several months before the assassinations ofAnténor Firmin in Haiti, and strongmanRamón Cáceres in the Dominican Republic. These events plunged the island ofHispaniola into another round of civil war, and eventually led to theUnited States occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916–24). The bishop is buried on the grounds of St. Vincent’s School for Handicapped Children in Port-au-Prince.[7] In 1936, the Haitian government recognized Holly for his five decades of work for Haiti 25 years after his death, and awarded him its highest honor, Commander in the National Order of Honor and Merit.[5] The aftermath of the 2010 Haitian earthquake postponed plans to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his death.[citation needed]
Theliturgical calendar of theEpiscopal Church in the United States of Americaremembers Holly with an annualfeast day[8] (Lesser Feast) on March 13,[9] the anniversary of his death, although some churches translate the celebration of his life and accomplishments to November 8, the anniversary of his ordination as well as less affected by Lenten observances.[7]
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