Richard Gilmour

Richard Gilmour (September 28, 1824—April 13, 1891) was a Scottish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Cleveland from 1872 until his death in 1891.

Biography

Richard Gilmour was born in Glasgow to John and Marian (née Callander) Gilmour, who were Reformed Presbyterians.[1] In 1829 he and his parents moved to Nova Scotia and later settled in Pennsylvania, near Latrobe.[1] He received his classical education in Philadelphia, where he became acquainted with Rev. Patrick Rafferty, the pastor of St. Francis Xavier Church in the Fairmount neighborhood.[1] His friendship with Rafferty eventually led Gilmour to convert to Catholicism in 1844, and he soon resolved to enter the priesthood. In 1846 he entered Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland.[2] In addition to his studies, he was named prefect of collegians and professor of mathematics in 1847.[1] After receiving his Master of Arts degree (1848) and completing his theological studies, Gilmour was ordained a priest by Archbishop John Baptist Purcell on August 30, 1852.[3]

He then served as pastor of St. Mary's Church in Portsmouth, Ohio, also doing missionary work in Ironton, Gallipolis, Vinton, and Wilkesville.[2] In 1857 he succeeded Rev. James Frederick Wood as pastor of St. Patrick's Church in Cincinnati, where Gilmour erected a parochial school. He briefly served as a professor at Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West (1868–1869) before being named pastor of St. Joseph's Church in Dayton.[2]

On February 15, 1872, Gilmour was appointed the second Bishop of Cleveland by Pope Pius IX.[3] He received his episcopal consecration on the following April 14 from Archbishop Purcell, with Bishops Augustus Toebbe and Caspar Henry Borgess serving as co-consecrators, at St. Peter's Cathedral.[3] He founded The Catholic Universe newspaper in 1874, and successfully opposed attempts by the Cuyahoga County auditor to tax Catholic churches and schools.[2] He also established St. Ann's Asylum and Maternity Home, St. Alexis Hospital, and St. John Hospital.

Gilmour went to Florida in March 1891 to recuperate his failing health.[2] He later died at St. Augustine, aged 66.

Gilmour Academy, in Gates Mills, Ohio, is named in honor of Bishop Gilmour.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Houck, George Francis (1890). The Church in Northern Ohio and in the Diocese of Cleveland: From 1749 to 1890. Short & Forman Printers. 
  2. ^ a b c d e "GILMOUR, RICHARD". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=GR1. 
  3. ^ a b c "Bishop Richard Gilmour". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bgilmour.html. 
Preceded by
Louis Amadeus Rappe		 Bishop of Cleveland
1872–1891		 Succeeded by
Ignatius Frederick Horstmann