John F. Noll

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Most Rev. John F. Noll (1875 - 1956) was bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Ft. Wayne, Indiana from 1925 until his death in 1956. He was a native of Ft. Wayne, one of 17 children. He was ordained a priest in 1898. His life was notable for four main reasons. He was the founder of the newspaper Our Sunday Visitor. Pope Pius XII elevated him to archbishop in 1953, despite the fact that he never headed an archdiocese. He was instrumental in generating support for construction of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, in Washington, D.C. As a young priest, he sometimes confronted people who claimed to "expose" evil practices within the Catholic Church. He would ask the alleged former priest or nun to which order he or she belonged, and to recite specific prayers; some questions were posed in Latin. In this way he exposed the speakers as simple anti-Catholic rabble rousers.