HARTY, JEREMIAH JAMES

Archbishop; b. St. Louis, Mo., Nov. 5, 1853; d. Los Angeles, Calif., Oct. 29, 1927. He was the son of Andrew and Julia (Murphy) Harty, Irish immigrants. Educated at St. Bridget's Parochial School, St. Louis University, and St. Vincent's Seminary, Cape Girardeau, Mo., he was ordained on April 28, 1878. After he had devoted 25 years to pastoral duties in the St. Louis archdiocese, his name was proposed for auxiliary bishop by Abp. John J. Kain, and in 1902 he was appointed temporary administrator of the archdiocese pending appointment of a coadjutor. In June 1903 he was elected to the Metropolitan See of Manila, Philippine Islands, and was consecrated by Cardinal Francesco satolli in the Church of St. Anthony, Rome, Aug. 15, 1903, although consistorial promotion came only on November 9. En route to Manila, Harty visited Pres. Theodore Roosevelt, who gave assurances of friendly governmental assistance.

Harty took possession of the See of Manila on Jan. 16, 1904. Two of his American suffragans, Bishops Dennis dougherty and Frederick Rooker, preceded him, while Bp. Thomas A. Hendrick followed shortly afterward. At this time, Church unity was endangered by the Aglipayan schism; Protestant proselytizing was bitterly aggressive; antifriar sentiments divided the faithful; and the native clergy were too few and too badly educated to combat all these attacks. Financial problems arising from change of sovereignty and abolition of the patronato privileges further complicated administration. Hospitals administered jointly by the Spanish government and the Church were claimed by the new government; friars' estates were under attack by nationalists; and Church properties seized by schismatics were recovered only through expensive lawsuits. In facing these problems, Harty was handicapped by his ignorance of Spanish and native languages, by misunderstandings with government officials and higher clergy, and especially by the sudden death of the Apostolic Delegate, Abp. John B. Guidi, shortly after calling the first Provincial Council of the Philippines. Nevertheless, Harty reorganized seminaries, rebuilt churches and schools, fought to recover Church property, and stemmed the tide of Aglipayanism before ill-health necessitated his transfer to America as archbishop-bishop of Omaha, Nebr., in May 1916. Installed in Omaha on Dec. 17, 1916, Harty found a diocese that still lacked many agencies incorporated elsewhere. He, therefore, erected 13 parishes and 9 parochial schools; established the first diocesan school board; organized catholic charities, national council of catholic women national council of catholic men, and Society for the Propagation of the Faith; aided Father flanagan with Boys Town; and planned a diocesan seminary. In 1925 continuous illness forced him to leave the diocese, and Bp. Francis J. L. Beckman was appointed diocesan administrator on Nov. 5, 1925.

Bibliography: Archives, Archdiocese of St. Louis. Archives, Archdiocese of Omaha. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

[m. d. clifford]