| Styles of John Joseph Cantwell |
|
|---|---|
| Reference style | The Most Reverend |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Monsignor |
| Posthumous style | none |
John Joseph Cantwell (December 1, 1874 – October 30, 1947) was the first archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Archbishop Cantwell was born in Limerick, Ireland. He was ordained priest for the Archdiocese of San Francisco on June 18, 1899 and was initially assigned as curate of Berkeley's St. Joseph The Worker parish. Father Cantwell established the Newman Club at the University of California, Berkeley, served as first chaplain. In 1906, San Francisco Archbishop Patrick W. Riordan appointed Cantwell his secretary, and he moved from Berkeley to the Archbishop Residence at 1000 Fulton Street. In August 1908 Riordan sent Cantwell (by now his Archdiocesan Vicar General) to Rome, to inquire of Pope Pius X as to Riordan's successor. In 1912, Fathers Cantwell and Michael D. Connolly accompanied Bishop Edward J. Hanna from Rochester, New York to San Francisco. After Riordan's death in 1914, Vicar General Cantwell served San Francisco Archbishop Hanna (1915–1917).
Pope Benedict XV appointed John J. Cantwell Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles in September 1917, two years after the death of Bishop Thomas Conaty, and Cantwell was formally ordained that December.
Two divisions of the Monterey-Los Angeles diocese occurred during Archbishop Cantwell's 30 year term. In June 1922 it was split to become the Diocese of Monterey-Fresno and the Diocese of Los Angeles-San Diego. The latter diocese was split again in July 1936 to create the Diocese of San Diego and the present-day Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Spencer Tracy, Bing Crosby, Loretta Young and Roman Catholics in the motion picture industry were friends of Cantwell. The funeral of Archbishop Cantwell at the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana was attended by members of the motion picture and aircraft industries.
Archbishop Cantwell was noted for being particularly sensitive to the needs of non-English speaking Catholics in the archdiocese, and he created 50 Hispanic parishes and missions.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas James Conaty |
Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles 1917–1922 |
Succeeded by See of Los Angeles-San Diego |
| Preceded by See of Monterey-Los Angeles |
Bishop of Los Angeles-San Diego 1922–1936 |
Succeeded by See of Los Angeles |
| Preceded by See of Los Angeles-San Diego |
Archbishop of Los Angeles 1936–1947 |
Succeeded by James Francis McIntyre |