CANTWELL, JOHN JOSEPH

First archbishop of Los Angeles, Calif.; b. Limerick, Ireland, Dec. 1, 1874; d. Los Angeles, Oct. 30, 1947. He was the son of Ellen (O'Connell) and Patrick Cantwell. After attending Sacred Heart College, Crescent, Limerick, and St. Patrick's College, Thurles, he was ordained on June 19, 1899. He then went to the United States, where he was stationed at Berkeley, California, from 1899 to 1904. While assistant at St. Joseph's Church there, he founded the Newman Club at the University of California. From 1905 to 1914 he was secretary to Abp. Patrick Riordan of San Francisco, and in 1914 was made vicar-general. Having been appointed bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles on Sept. 21, 1917, he was consecrated and installed that December. With the separation of Monterey-Fresno on June 1, 1922, Cantwell's see became Los Angeles-San Diego. He was made metropolitan of the new Province of Los Angeles on July 11, 1936.

Cantwell's 30-year episcopate in Los Angeles coincided with a phenomenal growth in the area. In 1917 the population of Los Angeles was less than 500,000; at his death it exceeded 2,000,000. The number of Catholics in 1917 was estimated at 178,233; in 1947, even after two dioceses had been detached, the Los Angeles see had 600,000 Catholics. They were served by two auxiliary bishops and 688 priests, of whom 362 were diocesan; there were 217 parishes with resident pastors, two diocesan seminaries, three seminaries for religious, four colleges, 35 high schools, and 115 parochial schools with 42,877 pupils. The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine was organized in 1922, and from 1943 on it utilized released time authorized by the state at the archbishop's request. At the archbishop's invitation, 14 communities of priests, six of lay brothers, and 36 of nuns established themselves in his see. Despite the 1929 Depression and the 1933 earthquake, progress continued as Catholic hospitals and charitable institutions were founded or enlarged.

Under Cantwell, synods were held in 1927 and 1942. In 1931 he received the Golden Rose of Tepeyac in gratitude for hospitality to exiled Mexican bishops and their flock during persecution. His solicitude for aliens led to the foundation of Mexican, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Russian, and Maronite chapels. Cantwell also inspired the organization of a Catholic Actors' Guild, the Thomas More Club for lawyers, and the Bellarmine group for industry and labor. The Legion of Decency (1934) grew out of Cantwell's appeal for a curb on abuses in the movie industry.

Bibliography: Archives, Los Angeles Chancery. j. b. code, Dictionary of American Hierarchy (New York 1940). m. p. o'donnell, Effect of John J. Cantwell's Episcopate on Catholic Education in California (Washington 1952).

[n. c. eberhardt]