Cardinal John J. Glennon, St. Louis (1862-1946)

John Joseph Glennon
John Joseph Glennon, archbishop of the St. Louis diocese and one of the eminent divines of the Roman Catholic ministry, was born in Kinnegad county, Meath, Ireland, June 14, 1862, his parents being Mathew and Catherine (Kinsella) Glennon. Reared in the land of his nativity he pursued a preparatory course of study in St. Marv’s College at Mullingar and was graduated from All Hallows College in Dublin with the class of 1883. Having determined to take holy orders, he thus prepared for the ministry of the church and was ordained to the priesthood in 1884, being then assigned to active duty as assistant pastor in St. Patrick’s church, Kansas City, Missouri, where he remained from 1884 until 1887. He was pastor of the Catholic cathedral there under Bishop Hogan from 1887 until 1892, was vicar-general of the diocese from 1892 until 1894, and in the latter year was made administrator of the diocese, in which position he continued for ten years. In the latter )ear he was appointed coadjutor bishop of Kansas City with right of succession and consecrated titular bishop of Pinara in June, 1903, and, on the 13th of October of that year, was appointed archbishop of St. Louis following the death of Archbishop Kain. He has thus attained to one of the highest ecclesiastical offices and under his guidance and influence the church is being continually expanded as a forceful factor in the moral progress of the city.

NOTE
John J. Glennon was Archbishop of St. Louis until his death in 1946. In 1945 Pope Pius XII named him a Cardinal. He died in Ireland on his return trip from Rome. Martin G. Towey writes in The Encyclopedia of American Catholic History: “Cardinal Glennon was best known as a builder, educator, and orator. During his forty-two years in St. Louis he directed the building of the present cathedral, major and minor seminary buildings, seven high schools, and numerous parishes.”