John J. Glennon

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Cardinal Glennon
Cardinal Glennon

His Eminence John Joseph Glennon (June 14, 1862-March 9, 1946) was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis, from 1903 to his death in 1946. He was named a Cardinal several months before his death. He received the red hat on February 22, 1946 in Rome. Before returning to St. Louis, he took a vacation in his native Ireland, where he died.

[edit] Biography

He was born in Hardwood, in County Meath, Ireland. In 1878, he enrolled at All Hallows College of what is now Dublin City University to study for the priesthood. In 1882, Bishop John Joseph Hogan of Kansas City to recruit priests for his newly created diocese. In 1884, Hogan ordained Glennon to the priesthood, after receiving insturctions from Rome that Glennon could be ordained at that age.

Glennon spent two years in St. Patrick's Parish in Kansas City, then returned to Europe to further his studies. After studies several months at the University of Bonn, he asked permission of his bishop to enroll in a Roman theology school, but was instead told to come home and become the rector of the cathedral and vicar general of the diocese. In 1896 Pope Leo XIII appointed Glennon as coadjutor bishop of Kansas City. At his consecration, he became one of the youngest bishops in the world, at age 34. Six year laters, he was appointed by Pope Leo to succeed Archbishop John Joseph Kain in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis, making him the youngest archbishop in the world. Glennon came to St. Louis during the time of the 1904 World's Fair, and integrated himself in so well with the community that he was included in every important project the city started.

In 1907, he broke ground for the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, which would become the new cathedral for the Archdiocese. In 1915, when the new cathedral was structurally completed, the new Kenrick Seminary (now Kenrick-Glennon Seminary) took in its first students.

Until his health began to fail in the mid-1930s, Archbishop Glennon was one of the premier preachers of the Catholic Church in the United States. He was also significantly involved with the other American archbishops in the group of clergy who made decisions regarding national church matters.

In December, 1945, when Glennon was 83 years old, Pope Pius XII named him a cardinal. Glennon initially questioned whether he should go to Rome to take part in the ceremony, but ultimately chose to go to Rome by way of Ireland. Upon the completion of the ceremonies in Rome, complicated by a cold he had not been able to recover from since leaving St. Louis, he died in Ireland. His body was returned to St. Louis, and is now buried in the Cathedral.

The only diocesan hospital for children, Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, affiliated with St Louis University Medical Center, was created in his name.

His greatest shortcoming as an archbishop was his failure to foster racial integration of the city's Catholic parochial schools, colleges, and universities. (See Webster University, Saint Louis University.) After Glennon's death in 1946, the new St. Louis Archbishop, Joseph E. Ritter, integrated the city's Catholic educational institutions.

Cardinal Glennon's final resting place is in one of the crypts contained within the mortuary chapel at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, St. Louis, Missouri.

[edit] Episcopal Lineage and Apostolic Succession

Cardinal Glennon's final resting place
Cardinal Glennon's final resting place


Episcopal Lineage
Consecrated by: John Joseph Kain
Date of consecration: June 29, 1896
Consecrator of
Bishop Date of consecration
Thomas Francis Lillis March 14, 1910
Christopher Edward Byrne November 10, 1918
Francis Gilfillan November 8, 1922
Christian Herman Winkelmann November 30, 1933
Paul Clarence Schulte September 21, 1937
George Joseph Donnelly April 23, 1940
Preceded by
John Joseph Kain		 Archbishop of St. Louis
1903–1946		 Succeeded by
Joseph Cardinal Ritter

[edit] References

  • Christensen, Lawrence O., et. al. Dictionary of Missouri Biography. Columbia, MO:University of Missouri Press, 1997. ISBN 0-8262-1222-0
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