John Francis O'Hara

John Francis O'Hara, C.S.C. (August 1, 1888 – August 28, 1960) was an American member of the Congregation of Holy Cross and prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania from 1951 until his death. He was created as a cardinal in 1958.

O'Hara previously served as president of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana from 1934 to 1939, as an auxiliary bishop of the United States Military Ordinariate in Washington, D.C. from 1939 to 1945 and as bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo in New York from 1945 to 1951.

Biography

Early life and education

The fourth of ten children, John O'Hara was born on August 1, 1888, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to John O'Hara and Ella Thornton. His father was a leader of the Irish American Catholic community in Ann Arbor, published a small newspaper and was active in Republican Party circles.

The O'Hara family moved to Bunker Hill, Indiana, two months after his birth, and later to Peru, Indiana, in 1889. He was attending Peru High School when, in 1905, his father was named by President Theodore Roosevelt as the American consul to Uruguay. The family then moved to Uruguay, where young John studied at the Catholic University of Uruguay in Montevideo. He also served as private secretary to Edward C. O'Brien, the US Ambassador to Uruguay.

In 1906, the younger O'Hara moved to Argentina and spent six months working on a cattle ranch. He furthered his studies, and then accompanied his father after the latter was transferred to Brazil.

Upon his return to the United States in 1908, O'Hara enrolled at the University of Notre Dame, where he taught Spanish to defray his costs.

Ordination and ministry

O'Hara was ordained to the priesthood for the Congregation at Sacred Heart Church on the Notre Dame campus by Bishop Joseph Chartrand on September 9, 1916. After his ordination, the Congregation assigned O'Hara as prefect of religion and dean of the College of Commerce at the University of Notre Dame. While at the university, O'Hara fostered the practice of daily reception of communion, then still a newly approved practice by the Catholic Church. He made national headlines when he arranged for two Notre Dame football players, on their way to a game against the US Military Academy at West Point, to receive communion in Albany, New York.</blockquote>

Auxiliary Bishop for the Military Forces

On December 11, 1939, O'Hara was appointed by Pope Pius XII as titular bishop of Milasa and auxiliary bishop of the United States Military Ordinariate. The Ordinate supervised the training and supervision of Catholic chaplains in the American armed services. O'Hara was consecrated on January 15, 1940, by Archbishop Francis Spellman, with Bishops John F. Noll and Joseph Ritter serving as co-consecrators, at Sacred Heart Church.. A devotee of the Blessed Virgin Mary, O' Hara selected as his episcopal motto: "Following her, you will not go astray."

Roosevelt later appointed O'Hara to the board of visitors of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, becoming the first Catholic bishop to receive that honor.

Bishop of Buffalo

thumb|420x420px|University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana (2006)

O'Hara was named the eighth bishop of Buffalo by Pius XII on March 10, 1945, and was installed in Buffalo on May 8, 1945. O'Hara greatly expanded Catholic education in the diocese, and eliminated racial segregation in schools and churches. In 1946, during the American occupation of Japan following the end of World War II, the Vatican sent O'Hara and Bishop Michael J. Ready there to report on the condition of the Catholic Church in that country . O'Hara commented on the ruling, "In effect the Supreme Court has ruled that the states may label as poison only what affects the body, not that which can destroy the soul."

Cardinal

Pope John XXIII made O'Hara a Cardinal in the consistory of December 15, 1958 and appointed him a cardinal-priest. with his titular church the Basilica of Ss. Andrea e Gregorio al Monte Celio in Rome O'Hara was the first member of the Congregation to be raised to the College of Cardinals. His health failing in his later years, O'Hara underwent several operations. He is buried at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Notre Dame, Indiana. The following high schools were named after him

Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, Pennsylvania
Cardinal O'Hara High School in Tonawanda, New York