The General’s Brother: Bishop Sylvester Rosecrans (1827-1878)

Born in Ohio, Sylvester Harden Rosecrans studied at Kenyon College, an Episcopalian-run college. While he was there he received a letter from his brother William, an army officer (and future Civil War general), telling him about his conversion to Catholicism. The letter so impressed Sylvester that he decided to convert, and he transferred to St. John’s College in New York (now Fordham University). He was then sent to Rome, where he was ordained in 1852 as a priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. In 1862, he was named an auxiliary bishop. Six years later he was named first Bishop of the new Diocese of Columbus. He was excused from participating in the First Vatican Council (1869-1870) in order to attend to the needs of his new diocese. No railroad had as yet penetrated some of the counties in his jurisdiction, and Rosecrans was forced to make many of the journeys on his visitations by stagecoach, wagon, or steamboat. During his 10-year-long tenure, Rosecrans founded St. Aloysius Seminary for young men in 1871, solemnly dedicated the diocese to the Sacred Heart in December 1873, and established the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Columbian, in 1875. He also founded St. Mary’s of the Springs Academy for Young Ladies, St. Joseph’s Academy, St. Vincent’s Orphan Asylum, and Sacred Heart Convent. But his greatest achievement was the construction of St. Joseph’s Cathedral, which cost $220,000 and was consecrated on October 20, 1878. He died the next day, aged 51.
(Adapted from Wikipedia)