Background
Bishop Montgomery was born in Saint Lawrence, Kentucky.
Bishop Montgomery was born in Saint Lawrence, Kentucky.
He was ordained a priest in December 1879 and became a bishop in January 1894. He assisted his predecessor (Bishop Francisco Mora y Borrell) as coadjutor of what was then referred to as the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles, and became the ordinary of the diocese when Mora retired in May 1896. During his term Bishop Montgomery faced significant bigotry, but he proved to be both a capable church and civic leader.
Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance, California is named in his honor.
Bishop Montgomery was a relative of Zachariah Montgomery and aviation pioneer John Jay Montgomery, who both also lived in California. In September 1902 Bishop Montgomery was named coadjutor to Archbishop Patrick William Riordan of San Francisco.
He led the archdiocese in caring for the victims of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Archbishop Riordan had departed San Francisco on Easter Monday before April 18, 1906, leaving Montgomery in charge of the Archdiocese.
During the fire Bishop Montgomery and Monsignor Charles A. Ramm put out the fire in the bell tower of Saint Mary"s Cathedral at Van Ness Avenue and O" Farrell Street.
The fire was stopped at Van Ness Avenue. Bishop Montgomery died unexpectedly the following January. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California.
