Alexander Christie (May 28, 1848 – April 6, 1925) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as

Bishop of Vancouver Island The Diocese of Victoria ( la, Dioecesis Victoriensis in Insula Vancouver) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its episcopal see is in Victoria. The diocese en ...

(1898–1899) and Archbishop of Oregon City (1899–1925). He founded the

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

in 1901.

Biography

Christie was born in

Highgate, Vermont Highgate is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,472 at the 2020 census. The town is on the Canada–US border and is a border town with Philipsburg, Quebec. History Highgate was named after Highgate in Engl ...

and later moved with his family to

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and, after the end of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, to

Austin, Minnesota Austin is a city in, and the county seat of, Mower County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 26,174 at the 2020 census. The town was originally settled along the Cedar River and has two artificial lakes, East Side Lake and Mill Po ...

. He studied at the Grand Seminary of Montreal from 1874 to 1877, and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on December 2, 1877. He served as

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of Sacred Heart Church in Waseca from 1878 until 1890, when he was transferred to the new Church of the Ascension in Minneapolis, Minnesota. From 1894 to 1898, he was pastor of St. Stephen's Church in Minneapolis.

Episcopacy

Bishop

On March 26, 1898, Christie was appointed

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

on the following June 29 from Archbishop

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in ''All the King's Men'' (1949), making him the first Vancouver-born actor to receive an Oscar nomin ...

, with Bishop

Jean-Baptiste Brondel Jean-Baptiste Brondel (23 February 1842 – 3 November 1903) was a Belgian-born prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Vancouver Island in British Columbia and Alaska (1879–1883) and as vicar apostolic and bis ...

and John Shanley serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

Archbishop

Christie was named Archbishop of Oregon City on March 4, 1899. Bishop Christie founded the

. According to University tradition, while onboard a ship in the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...

, Christie observed the abandoned West Hall atop Waud's Bluff, formerly the site of the Methodist

Portland University Portland University was a private, Methodist post-secondary school in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1891 in a split from Willamette University, the school closed in 1900. The campus was located in what is now the University Park ne ...

and decided to purchase it. Originally called "Columbia University" after the nearby river, it opened September 5, 1901. The following year he persuaded the Congregation of Holy Cross to assume control, telling them "Take over Columbia and make it the Notre Dame of the Pacific Northwest!" One of Christie's early priorities was to have the Archdiocese divided into something more manageable. The Diocese of Baker City was created in 1903, assuming responsibility for all of the state east of the Cascades. The Christie Home for Orphaned Girls was opened in 1907.Dolan, Timothy Michael. ''Some Seed Fell on Good Ground: The Life of Edwin V. O'Hara'', CUA Press, 2012, p. 19
/ref> The

Catholic Truth Society Catholic Truth Society (CTS) is a body that prints and publishes Catholic literature, including apologetics, prayerbooks, spiritual reading, and lives of saints. It is based in London, the United Kingdom. The CTS had been founded in 1868 by ...

was established in 1922, and he successfully campaigned against an Oregon law that would eliminate

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...

s, which was eventually settled by the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in ''

Pierce v. Society of Sisters ''Pierce v. Society of Sisters'', 268 U.S. 510 (1925), was an early 20th-century United States Supreme Court decision striking down an Oregon statute that required all children to attend public school. The decision significantly expanded coverage ...

''. After a steady decline in health, Bishop Christie died, seven weeks before his 77th birthday, and was buried at Mount Calvary Cemetery in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christie, Alexander 1848 births 1925 deaths People from Highgate, Vermont Roman Catholic archbishops of Oregon City 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Canada 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis People from Waseca, Minnesota Catholics from Minnesota Catholics from Vermont Roman Catholic bishops of Victoria in Canada 19th-century American Roman Catholic priests