John T. McNicholas
Encyclopedia
John Timothy McNicholas, O.P.
(December 15, 1877—April 22, 1950) was an Irish
-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church
. A Dominican
, he served as Bishop of Duluth
(1918-1925) and Archbishop of Cincinnati
(1925-1950).
, County Mayo
, the youngest child of Patrick J. and Mary (née Mullany) McNicholas. In 1881, he and his family emigrated to the United States
, where they settled in Chester, Pennsylvania
. He received his early education at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Chester, and then attended St. Joseph's Preparatory College in Philadelphia. In 1894, at the age of seventeen, he entered the Order of Friars Preachers
(more commonly known as the Dominicans) at St. Rose Priory
in Springfield, Kentucky
. He continued his studies at St. Joseph Priory in Somerset, Ohio
, where he was ordained
to the priesthood
by Bishop Henry K. Moeller
on October 10, 1901. He took the first name John as his religious name.
to study at Minerva University, from where he obtained a Doctor of Sacred Theology
degree in 1904. He returned to the United States later that year, and assumed the role of master of novices
at St. Joseph Priory in Somerset. The following year he was sent to Immaculate Conception College
in Washington, D.C.
, where he served as regent of studies and professor of philosophy
, theology
, and canon law
.
In 1909, he became the national director of the Holy Name Society
, headquartered in New York City
. He also served as the first editor
of the Holy Name Journal and as pastor
of St. Catherine of Siena Church. He remained in New York until 1917, when he returned to Rome as an assistant to the Master of the Order of Preachers and a professor of theology and canon law at the Angelicum University.
, Minnesota
, by Pope Benedict XV
. He received his episcopal
consecration
on the following September 8 from Cardinal Tommaso Pio Boggiani
, O.P., with Archbishop Bonaventura Cerretti
and Bishop Hermann Esser, O.P., serving as co-consecrators
. His installation took place in Duluth
on the following November 15. He was raised to the rank of an Assistant at the Pontifical Throne
in 1923. In May 1925, he was named Bishop of Indianapolis
, Indiana
, to succeed Bishop Joseph Chartrand
, who was appointed Archbishop of Cincinnati
. However, he never occupied that post due to Chartrand's rejection of his own appointment. Instead, McNicholas was appointed the fourth Archbishop of Cincinnati by Pope Pius XI
on July 8, 1925. His installation took place at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral
on the following August 12.
During the 1928 presidential election
, which featured the first Catholic to win a major party nomination in the person of Al Smith
, McNicholas addressed concerns that Smith would take orders from church leaders in Rome in making decisions affecting the country by declaring, "We, as American Catholics, owe no civil allegiance to the Vatican State
."
In 1931, he joined clergymen of various faiths in speaking over "The Church in the Air", a CBS
radio program. However, he strongly prohibited Catholics from participating in non-Catholic religious ceremonies, saying, "The Catholic Church cannot give the impression that one religion is as good as another or that she must strive with those of other faiths for a common denominator in religion."
During the Great Depression
, he advocated "conscription of excess wealth" as "wholly in harmony with the principles of Christian social justice" and named extreme concentration of wealth as one of the "crimes of the country". He also said the state could not place on charity the full burden of caring for the unemployed.
In response to Archbishop Amleto Giovanni Cicognani's call for a movement to counteract the influence of "salacious cinema", McNicholas founded the Catholic Legion of Decency (later renamed the National Legion of Decency
) in 1933. The organization, which at the height of its influence claimed to have more than 22,000,000 Catholic members, to control and enforce decency standards and boycott films deemed offensive by the Catholic Church. The film industry cooperated with the Legion and edited many films for content to avoid receiving a "C" ("Condemned") rating.
While observing the conversion of a group of seventy African American
s to Roman Catholicism in Cincinnati, McNicholas said, "I earnestly ask all our colored citizens to consider the position of the Catholic Church, to study her teachings, to realize that her ceremonials, her processions, her music, are full of a profound meaning which, if understood, could not fail to stir the deepest emotion of the colored race."
In 1938, he condemned the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany
and elsewhere, declaring that the German treatment of Jews "deserves the condemnation of all right-thinking men" and was "irrational and inhuman." He also denounced the policies of the "madman Hitler
" and said that there was "little essential difference between his brand of fascism
and the Bolshevism
of Stalin
." That same year, he issued a pastoral letter in which he wrote, "Governments that have no fixed standards of morality, and consequently no moral sense, can scarcely settle the question of war on moral grounds for Christians ... who see and know the injustice of practically all wars in our modern pagan world. There is the very practical question for informed Christians who acknowledge the supreme dominion of God ... Will such Christians in our country form a mighty league of conscientious non-combatants?"
During his tenure as archbishop, McNicholas raised the level of Catholic education at all levels throughout the archdiocese and the country. He served as president-general of the National Catholic Education Association
(1946-1950) and national chairman of the Catholic Student Mission Crusade, and held a thirteen-year membership on the Episcopal Committee for Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. Between 1945 and 1950, he held five terms as chairman of the Administration Board of the NCWC.
In 1950, at the age of 72, McNicholas died from a heart attack
at his residence in the College Hill
neighborhood of Cincinnati.
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
(December 15, 1877—April 22, 1950) was an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. A Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, he served as Bishop of Duluth
Roman Catholic Diocese of Duluth
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Duluth is a Roman Catholic diocese in Minnesota. The episcopal see is in Duluth, Minnesota. It was established on October 3, 1889 by Pope Leo XIII. The diocese includes Aitkin, Carlton, Cass, Cook, Crow Wing, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, Pine and St...
(1918-1925) and Archbishop of Cincinnati
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati covers the southwest region of the U.S. state of Ohio, including the greater Cincinnati and Dayton metropolitan areas. The Archbishop of Cincinnati is Most Rev...
(1925-1950).
Early life and education
Timothy McNicholas was born in KiltimaghKiltimagh
' is a town in County Mayo, Ireland. It was referred to in the popular Irish song 'Horse it into ya Cynthia' by Conal Gallen.-Transport:The rail link is closed, but is pending re-opening as part of the Western Railway Corridor. Kiltimagh railway station opened on 1 October 1895 and finally closed...
, County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
, the youngest child of Patrick J. and Mary (née Mullany) McNicholas. In 1881, he and his family emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where they settled in Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...
. He received his early education at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Chester, and then attended St. Joseph's Preparatory College in Philadelphia. In 1894, at the age of seventeen, he entered the Order of Friars Preachers
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
(more commonly known as the Dominicans) at St. Rose Priory
St. Rose Priory
St. Rose Priory, a house of the Dominican Order, was the location of the first Catholic educational institution west of the Allegheny Mountains....
in Springfield, Kentucky
Springfield, Kentucky
Springfield is a city in and county seat of Washington County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,634 at the 2000 census. It was established in 1793 and probably named for springs in the area.-Geography:...
. He continued his studies at St. Joseph Priory in Somerset, Ohio
Somerset, Ohio
Somerset is a village in Perry County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,549 at the 2000 census.Saint Joseph Church, the oldest Catholic church in Ohio, is located just outside of Somerset on State Route 383.-Geography:...
, where he was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
to the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
by Bishop Henry K. Moeller
Henry K. Moeller
Henry K. Moeller was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Columbus and Archbishop of Cincinnati .-Early life and education:...
on October 10, 1901. He took the first name John as his religious name.
Priesthood
Following his ordination, Father McNicholas went to RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
to study at Minerva University, from where he obtained a Doctor of Sacred Theology
Doctor of Sacred Theology
The Doctor of Sacred Theology is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Catholic Church....
degree in 1904. He returned to the United States later that year, and assumed the role of master of novices
Master of novices
The master of novices or novice master is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to refer those religious to whom is committed the training of the novices and the government of the novitiate of a religious order or congregation...
at St. Joseph Priory in Somerset. The following year he was sent to Immaculate Conception College
Dominican House of Studies
The Dominican House of Studies is a Priory of the Province of St. Joseph of the Order of Preachers. It houses the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception and the Priory of the Immaculate Conception...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where he served as regent of studies and professor of philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, and canon law
Canon law (Catholic Church)
The canon law of the Catholic Church, is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and principles of legal interpretation. It lacks the necessary binding force present in most modern day legal systems. The academic...
.
In 1909, he became the national director of the Holy Name Society
Society of the Holy Name
The Society of the Holy Name, formally known as the Confraternity of the Most Holy Name of God and Jesus, is a Roman Catholic confraternity of the laity and is one of several which are under the care of the Dominican Order...
, headquartered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He also served as the first editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of the Holy Name Journal and as pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
of St. Catherine of Siena Church. He remained in New York until 1917, when he returned to Rome as an assistant to the Master of the Order of Preachers and a professor of theology and canon law at the Angelicum University.
Episcopacy
On July 18, 1918, McNicholas was appointed the second Bishop of DuluthRoman Catholic Diocese of Duluth
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Duluth is a Roman Catholic diocese in Minnesota. The episcopal see is in Duluth, Minnesota. It was established on October 3, 1889 by Pope Leo XIII. The diocese includes Aitkin, Carlton, Cass, Cook, Crow Wing, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, Pine and St...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, by Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV , born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, reigned as Pope from 3 September 1914 to 22 January 1922...
. He received his episcopal
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
consecration
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
on the following September 8 from Cardinal Tommaso Pio Boggiani
Tommaso Pio Boggiani
Tommaso Pio Boggiani O.P. was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Genoa....
, O.P., with Archbishop Bonaventura Cerretti
Bonaventura Cerretti
Bonaventura Cerretti was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura from 1931 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1925....
and Bishop Hermann Esser, O.P., serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
. His installation took place in Duluth
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
on the following November 15. He was raised to the rank of an Assistant at the Pontifical Throne
Assistant at the Pontifical Throne
Assistant at the Pontifical Throne is an ecclesiastical title in the Roman Catholic Church. It signifies a prelate belonging to the papal chapel, who stands near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions....
in 1923. In May 1925, he was named Bishop of Indianapolis
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis is a division of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. It was originally erected as the Diocese of Vincennes, Indiana on May 6, 1834, and encompassed all of Indiana as well as the eastern third of Illinois...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, to succeed Bishop Joseph Chartrand
Joseph Chartrand
Joseph Chartrand was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Indianapolis from 1918 until his death.-Biography:...
, who was appointed Archbishop of Cincinnati
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati covers the southwest region of the U.S. state of Ohio, including the greater Cincinnati and Dayton metropolitan areas. The Archbishop of Cincinnati is Most Rev...
. However, he never occupied that post due to Chartrand's rejection of his own appointment. Instead, McNicholas was appointed the fourth Archbishop of Cincinnati by Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
on July 8, 1925. His installation took place at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral
Saint Peter in Chains Cathedral
Saint Peter in Chains Cathedral is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati. It is a Greek revival structure located at 8th and Plum Streets in downtown Cincinnati...
on the following August 12.
During the 1928 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1928
The United States presidential election of 1928 pitted Republican Herbert Hoover against Democrat Al Smith. The Republicans were identified with the booming economy of the 1920s, whereas Smith, a Roman Catholic, suffered politically from Anti-Catholic prejudice, his anti-prohibitionist stance, and...
, which featured the first Catholic to win a major party nomination in the person of Al Smith
Al Smith
Alfred Emanuel Smith. , known in private and public life as Al Smith, was an American statesman who was elected the 42nd Governor of New York three times, and was the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate in 1928...
, McNicholas addressed concerns that Smith would take orders from church leaders in Rome in making decisions affecting the country by declaring, "We, as American Catholics, owe no civil allegiance to the Vatican State
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
."
In 1931, he joined clergymen of various faiths in speaking over "The Church in the Air", a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
radio program. However, he strongly prohibited Catholics from participating in non-Catholic religious ceremonies, saying, "The Catholic Church cannot give the impression that one religion is as good as another or that she must strive with those of other faiths for a common denominator in religion."
During the Great Depression
Great Depression in the United States
The Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement...
, he advocated "conscription of excess wealth" as "wholly in harmony with the principles of Christian social justice" and named extreme concentration of wealth as one of the "crimes of the country". He also said the state could not place on charity the full burden of caring for the unemployed.
In response to Archbishop Amleto Giovanni Cicognani's call for a movement to counteract the influence of "salacious cinema", McNicholas founded the Catholic Legion of Decency (later renamed the National Legion of Decency
National Legion of Decency
The National Legion of Decency was an organization dedicated to identifying and combating objectionable content, from the point of view of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, in motion pictures...
) in 1933. The organization, which at the height of its influence claimed to have more than 22,000,000 Catholic members, to control and enforce decency standards and boycott films deemed offensive by the Catholic Church. The film industry cooperated with the Legion and edited many films for content to avoid receiving a "C" ("Condemned") rating.
While observing the conversion of a group of seventy African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s to Roman Catholicism in Cincinnati, McNicholas said, "I earnestly ask all our colored citizens to consider the position of the Catholic Church, to study her teachings, to realize that her ceremonials, her processions, her music, are full of a profound meaning which, if understood, could not fail to stir the deepest emotion of the colored race."
In 1938, he condemned the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and elsewhere, declaring that the German treatment of Jews "deserves the condemnation of all right-thinking men" and was "irrational and inhuman." He also denounced the policies of the "madman Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
" and said that there was "little essential difference between his brand of fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
and the Bolshevism
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
of Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
." That same year, he issued a pastoral letter in which he wrote, "Governments that have no fixed standards of morality, and consequently no moral sense, can scarcely settle the question of war on moral grounds for Christians ... who see and know the injustice of practically all wars in our modern pagan world. There is the very practical question for informed Christians who acknowledge the supreme dominion of God ... Will such Christians in our country form a mighty league of conscientious non-combatants?"
During his tenure as archbishop, McNicholas raised the level of Catholic education at all levels throughout the archdiocese and the country. He served as president-general of the National Catholic Education Association
National Catholic Education Council
The National Catholic Education Association was formed at a meeting held in St. Louis, Missouri, July 12-14, 1904. At that meeting, the Education Conference of Catholic Seminary Faculties, the Association of Catholic Colleges and the Parish School Conference agreed to merge and form the Catholic...
(1946-1950) and national chairman of the Catholic Student Mission Crusade, and held a thirteen-year membership on the Episcopal Committee for Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. Between 1945 and 1950, he held five terms as chairman of the Administration Board of the NCWC.
In 1950, at the age of 72, McNicholas died from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
at his residence in the College Hill
College Hill, Cincinnati
College Hill is a residential neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Originally a wealthy suburb called Pleasant Hill due to its prime location, it was renamed College Hill because of the two colleges that were established there in the mid-nineteenth century...
neighborhood of Cincinnati.