| Francis J. Haas | |
|---|---|
| Born | Francis Joseph Haas March 18, 1889 Racine, Wisconsin |
| Died | August 29, 1953 Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Cause of death | heart attack |
| Resting place | Resurrection Cemetery, Wyoming, Michigan |
| Nationality | United States |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Education | St. Francis Seminary, Johns Hopkins, Catholic University |
| Occupation | priest, labor mediator, bishop |
| Title | Bishop of Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Term | 1943-1953 |
| Predecessor | Joseph C. Plagens |
| Successor | Allen James Babcock |
| Board member of | National Labor Relations Board, President's Committee on Civil Rights |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Parents | Peter Francis Haas, Mary Lucy O'Day |
Francis Joseph Haas (1889-1953) was an American Roman Catholic bishop and advocate for social justice. He was the sixth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids from 1943 until his death in 1953.
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Francis Haas was born in Racine, Wisconsin on March 18, 1889. He studied at St. Francis Seminary, and was ordained on June 11, 1913, for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee. He was later appointed rector of St. Francis in 1935, and was president of the Catholic Association for International Peace.[1]
As a mediator for the National Labor Board, he helped settle the Minneapolis Teamsters strike in 1934.[2]
He was a member of President Harry Truman's President's Committee on Civil Rights, 1946-1947.
In 1943, he resigned from his position as chairman of the President's Committee on Fair Employment Practice to become the bishop of Grand Rapids, Michigan.[3] Pope Pius XII appointed him bishop on September 26, 1943, and he was consecrated on November 18, 1943. He hosted a National Liturgical Conference at the Grand Rapids Civic Auditorium in 1953, and died eight days later on August 29, 1953, of a heart attack.[4]