Background
John Connolly was born in 1750 at Slane, Ireland.
John Connolly was born in 1750 at Slane, Ireland.
John began his education at an early age in Ireland. He continued his studies in Belgium and entered the Dominican Order. Later he was sent to Rome where he was ordained in about 1775.
The first years of John's priesthood were spent in teaching. Later he held various posts of importance in his Order—among them that of assistant to its General. He was also a director of the Casanate Library, established by Cardinal Jerome Casanate, which now belongs to the government and is one of the most noted in the Italian capital.
Many of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, especially those in English-speaking countries, made him their agent at the papal curia. Every charge entrusted to him he executed with a prudence, fidelity, and success which not only won confidence and made friends, but also caused him to be an outstanding character among the clergy of Rome. His letters reveal a clear, trained, and orderly mind. More than once Father Connolly was mentioned for a bishopric in his native land.
In 1808, when four new dioceses were erected in the United States, Rome seriously considered him for that of New York. His confrère, Richard Luke Con- canen, who received the appointment, was held in Europe by the French embargo, and died there two years later. Meanwhile Pius VII was exiled. One of his first acts on regaining his freedom, however, was to nominate Connolly the second bishop of New York. Although consecrated on November 6, 1814, he could not, because of the war with England, reach his diocese for a twelvemonth.
The aged prelate set about his new task with characteristic courage and vigor. His diocese embraced all New York State and half of New Jersey. He was pastor, missionary, and bishop all in one. Racial antagonism combined with lay trusteeism to give him considerable trouble in New York City. The French and the Irish were especially arrayed in hostile parties. Those who held that the management of the temporalities of the Church should rest with laymen, allied themselves with the French, and even sought to interfere in matters purely spiritual. Despite the opposition, acrimony, and unjust accusations of the malcontents, Connolly maintained the even tenor of his ways, defended his Episcopal rights, accomplished much good for religion, and left a name that is still cherished.
John Connolly was held in high esteem by all classes and creeds. He did the fruitful work of both bishop and missionary almost to the day of his death. He built several churches, founded an orphan asylum, and introduced the Sisters of Charity. He was the first Roman Catholic prelate to urge the erection of a diocese in each state and the promotion to the miter only of clergymen adept in the English language.
John Connolly was a member of the Catholic Church.
