![](\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ph_hcWuFtW0\/TlJNwIPJhWI\/AAAAAAAAE24\/k7NAlAQ7BLU\/s640\/nationalcyclopae14newy_0804%255B1%255D.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\nLeary, Annie, philanthropist, was born about 1860, in New York City, daughter of James and Catherine Leary, who were also born in New York. She is descended on her mother\u2019s side from Holland\u2014Dutch ancestors, while her paternal grandfather came from Ireland to the United States during his boyhood. In early childhood Miss Leary became deeply interested in the mission work of the Roman Catholic Church and decided to devote both her time and fortune to that noble cause. Purchasing four houses on Charlton Street, she furnished them artistically as well as comfortably, called the nuns and priests of that sordid neighborhood to her assistance and opened a mission that was destined to accomplish inestimable good among the myriads of needy and sadly neglected Italian children. She clothed them when they were naked, fed them when they were hungry and taught them the doctrines of the Catholic Church, until she became well known and blessed throughout the crowded tenements of that district. For many years Miss Leary was president and is now honorary president of the Society of the Children of Mary, attached to the Ladies of the Sacred Heart, and is also president of the latter\u2019s sewing circle, or Tabernacle Society, where women congregate to make vestments, altar-cloths and other objects for the church. She was responsible for securing through Archbishop Corrigan the society\u2019s affiliation with the nuns of the Via Nomentana in Rome. When the Fathers of the Blessed Sacrament decided to come to the United States Miss Leary carried out the necessary arrangements and brought them to the Church of St. Jean Baptiste in New York City, soon afterwards presenting a magnificent altar to that church. She also brought the Marie Reparatrici order of nuns from Rome to this country for the perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The late Arthur Leary, notable in social as well as financial circles, was her brother, and to perpetuate his memory she built the beautiful Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament at Bellevue Hospital. Its windows imported from Munich, represent the saints of every country, its interior decorations are rich, but quiet, and before its shrine the outcast poor of every nation flock for comfort and devotion. Among the many other good works she has accomplished may be mentioned the founding, in connection with her mission, of the Christopher Columbus Holy Cross Society of America, which has already taken deep root and begun to spread. In 1901, in recognition of her life\u2019s devotion to the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIII, through Archbishop Corrigan, created her a Papal countess. Besides her residence on Fifth Avenue, New York, the Countess has a beautiful summer home in Newport, where she entertains with great munificence. Her personality is sympathetic, kindly and tolerant. Her knowledge of life is broad and understanding, while beneath her quiet pose one is always conscious of the burning ardor of her faith which at every opportunity has blazed forth which at every opportunity has blazed forth in deeds that insure a lasting monument to her name. <\/p>\n
The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography<\/em>, Vol. 14 (New York: James T. White & Company, 1910), 556-559. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leary, Annie, philanthropist, was born about 1860, in New York City, daughter of James and Catherine Leary, who were also born in New York. She is descended on her mother\u2019s side from Holland\u2014Dutch ancestors, while her paternal grandfather came from Ireland to the United States during his boyhood. In early childhood Miss Leary became deeply […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1042,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
\u201cThe Church Would Look Foolish Without Them\u201d: Countess Annie Leary, New York, New York<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Leary, Annie, philanthropist, was born about 1860, in New York City, daughter of James and Catherine Leary, who were also born in New York. She is\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/2011\/08\/\u201cthe-church-would-look-foolish-without-them\u201d-countess-annie-leary-new-york-new-york.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cThe Church Would Look Foolish Without Them\u201d: Countess Annie Leary, New York, New York\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Leary, Annie, philanthropist, was born about 1860, in New York City, daughter of James and Catherine Leary, who were also born in New York. She is\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/2011\/08\/\u201cthe-church-would-look-foolish-without-them\u201d-countess-annie-leary-new-york-new-york.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"McNamara's Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-08-22T08:39:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ph_hcWuFtW0\/TlJNwIPJhWI\/AAAAAAAAE24\/k7NAlAQ7BLU\/s640\/nationalcyclopae14newy_0804%255B1%255D.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Pat McNamara\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Pat McNamara\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/2011\/08\/%e2%80%9cthe-church-would-look-foolish-without-them%e2%80%9d-countess-annie-leary-new-york-new-york.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/2011\/08\/%e2%80%9cthe-church-would-look-foolish-without-them%e2%80%9d-countess-annie-leary-new-york-new-york.html\",\"name\":\"\u201cThe Church Would Look Foolish Without Them\u201d: Countess Annie Leary, New York, New York\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-08-22T08:39:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-08-22T08:39:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/#\/schema\/person\/67acddc1dbddb4c13c7e1b7df07f35e7\"},\"description\":\"Leary, Annie, philanthropist, was born about 1860, in New York City, daughter of James and Catherine Leary, who were also born in New York. She is\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/2011\/08\/%e2%80%9cthe-church-would-look-foolish-without-them%e2%80%9d-countess-annie-leary-new-york-new-york.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/2011\/08\/%e2%80%9cthe-church-would-look-foolish-without-them%e2%80%9d-countess-annie-leary-new-york-new-york.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/2011\/08\/%e2%80%9cthe-church-would-look-foolish-without-them%e2%80%9d-countess-annie-leary-new-york-new-york.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u201cThe Church Would Look Foolish Without Them\u201d: Countess Annie Leary, New York, New York\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/\",\"name\":\"McNamara's Blog\",\"description\":\"Insightful, thought-provoking, and stimulating discussion \u2013 Patheos\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/#\/schema\/person\/67acddc1dbddb4c13c7e1b7df07f35e7\",\"name\":\"Pat McNamara\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c3e666dc69dc2dd6d797c06218142620?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c3e666dc69dc2dd6d797c06218142620?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Pat McNamara\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/author\/patmcnamara\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u201cThe Church Would Look Foolish Without Them\u201d: Countess Annie Leary, New York, New York","description":"Leary, Annie, philanthropist, was born about 1860, in New York City, daughter of James and Catherine Leary, who were also born in New York. She is","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/2011\/08\/\u201cthe-church-would-look-foolish-without-them\u201d-countess-annie-leary-new-york-new-york.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u201cThe Church Would Look Foolish Without Them\u201d: Countess Annie Leary, New York, New York","og_description":"Leary, Annie, philanthropist, was born about 1860, in New York City, daughter of James and Catherine Leary, who were also born in New York. She is","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/2011\/08\/\u201cthe-church-would-look-foolish-without-them\u201d-countess-annie-leary-new-york-new-york.html","og_site_name":"McNamara's Blog","article_published_time":"2011-08-22T08:39:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ph_hcWuFtW0\/TlJNwIPJhWI\/AAAAAAAAE24\/k7NAlAQ7BLU\/s640\/nationalcyclopae14newy_0804%255B1%255D.jpg"}],"author":"Pat McNamara","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Pat McNamara","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/2011\/08\/%e2%80%9cthe-church-would-look-foolish-without-them%e2%80%9d-countess-annie-leary-new-york-new-york.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/2011\/08\/%e2%80%9cthe-church-would-look-foolish-without-them%e2%80%9d-countess-annie-leary-new-york-new-york.html","name":"\u201cThe Church Would Look Foolish Without Them\u201d: Countess Annie Leary, New York, New York","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-08-22T08:39:00+00:00","dateModified":"2011-08-22T08:39:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/#\/schema\/person\/67acddc1dbddb4c13c7e1b7df07f35e7"},"description":"Leary, Annie, philanthropist, was born about 1860, in New York City, daughter of James and Catherine Leary, who were also born in New York. She is","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/2011\/08\/%e2%80%9cthe-church-would-look-foolish-without-them%e2%80%9d-countess-annie-leary-new-york-new-york.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/2011\/08\/%e2%80%9cthe-church-would-look-foolish-without-them%e2%80%9d-countess-annie-leary-new-york-new-york.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/2011\/08\/%e2%80%9cthe-church-would-look-foolish-without-them%e2%80%9d-countess-annie-leary-new-york-new-york.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u201cThe Church Would Look Foolish Without Them\u201d: Countess Annie Leary, New York, New York"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/","name":"McNamara's Blog","description":"Insightful, thought-provoking, and stimulating discussion \u2013 Patheos","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/#\/schema\/person\/67acddc1dbddb4c13c7e1b7df07f35e7","name":"Pat McNamara","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c3e666dc69dc2dd6d797c06218142620?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c3e666dc69dc2dd6d797c06218142620?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Pat McNamara"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/author\/patmcnamara"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1042"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mcnamarasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![](\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ph_hcWuFtW0\/TlJNwIPJhWI\/AAAAAAAAE24\/k7NAlAQ7BLU\/s1600\/nationalcyclopae14newy_0804%255B1%255D.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n