Bernard O'Reilly (1 March 1803 – after 23 January 1856) was an Irish-born

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. Known for his service during the 1832 cholera outbreak in New York, he later served as Bishop of Hartford from 1850 until his death in 1856.

Biography

O'Reilly was born in Columcille, County Longford, and embarked for the United States in January 1825 with the intention of studying for the priesthood. He attended the Seminary of Montreal in Quebec, Canada, before completing his

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

studies at St. Mary's Seminary in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland. His brother was the Rev. William O'Reilly, who was the pastor in the late 1840s of St. Raymond's Church (Bronx, New York) in the Diocese of New York, later rector of Our Lady of the Isle (Newport, Rhode Island), and eventually Vicar General of the Diocese of Hartford.Remigius Lafort, S.T.D., Censor,
The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. Volume 3: The Province of Baltimore and the Province of New York, Section 1: Comprising the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn, Buffalo and Ogdensburg Together with some Supplementary Articles on Religious Communities of Women.
' (New York City: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914), p.392. Bernard 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 ...

a priest in New York by Bishop

Francis Kenrick Francis Patrick Kenrick (December 3, 1796 or 1797 – July 8, 1863) was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the third Bishop of the Diocese of Philadelphia (1842–1851) and the sixth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of ...

on 13 October 1831. He was then assigned to St. James Church on Jay Street in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, where he distinguished himself for his heroism during the

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

outbreak in 1832 and twice fell victim to the disease himself. He was transferred to St. Patrick's Church,

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

in December 1832, and remained there until he became

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of the Diocese of Buffalo in 1847, where his duties included supervising the seminary. On 9 August 1850, O'Reilly was appointed the second Bishop of Hartford,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

. 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 10 November from Bishop

John Timon John Timon, C.M. (February 12, 1797 – April 16, 1867) was a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the bishop of the new Diocese of Buffalo in Western New York and founder of the brothers of the Holy Infancy religious order. B ...

, CM, with Bishops

John McCloskey John McCloskey (March 10, 1810 – October 10, 1885) was a senior-ranking American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the first American born Archbishop of New York from 1864 until his death in 1885, having previously served as Bishop of ...

and

John Bernard Fitzpatrick John Bernard Fitzpatrick (November 1, 1812 – February 13, 1866) was an American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Boston from 1846 until his death in 1866. Early life and education Fitzpatrick was born in Boston, Ma ...

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, ...

, at Rochester. He worked to secure priests for the diocese, and defended Catholics from the

anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and the Uni ...

movements of the era. He funded St. Mary's Theological Seminary, located initially in the episcopal residence, and taught the first week of classes. In 1852 he traveled to Europe in an attempt to obtain more priests for the diocese. Among those recruited were a number of students from

All Hallows College All Hallows College was a college of higher education in Dublin. It was founded in 1842 and was run by the Vincentians from 1892 until 2016. On 23 May 2014, it was announced that it was closing down, due to decreasing student numbers. The sale o ...

, Dublin, as well as

Thomas Francis Hendricken Thomas Francis Hendricken (May 5, 1827 – June 11, 1886) was an Irish-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Providence in Rhode Island from 1872 until his death in 1886. Biogra ...

, of Maynooth, future Bishop of the

Diocese of Providence The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence ( la, Dioecesis Providentiensis) is a diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. The diocese was erected by Pope Pius IX on February 17, 1872 and originally comprised the entire state of Rhode ...

. The seminarians were ordained before they left Ireland.O'Donnell, James H., ''History of the Diocese of Hartford'', D. H. Hurd Company, 1900, p. 134
/ref> In May 1851, twenty-one Catholic soldiers were imprisoned at

Fort Columbus A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

in New York for failure to attend Protestant religious services. One of the soldiers was tried and found guilty of disobedience of orders. O'Reilly wrote letters to the ''Boston Pilot'' under the pseudonym "Roger Williams" denouncing such official bigotry. The matter was appealed to the War Department which in July overturned the ruling. He attended the

First Plenary Council of Baltimore The Plenary Councils of Baltimore were three national meetings of Catholic bishops in the United States in 1852, 1866 and 1884 in Baltimore, Maryland. During the early history of the History of Roman Catholicism in the United States, Roman Cath ...

in 1852. In 1855, Bishop O'Reilly introduced the Sisters of Mercy to the diocese. They established their motherhouse in Providence, which proved to be a hotbed of virulent

Know Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

anti-Catholicism. O'Reilly had previously encountered such sentiments directed at the Sisters of Charity hospital in Rochester. On this occasion he faced down an angry mob that had gathered before the convent. He also built three orphan asylums.Shea, John Gilmary. "Rt. Rev. Bernard O'Reilly", ''The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the United States'', Office of Catholic Publications, 1886
/ref> O'Reilly visited Europe in December 1855. Returning in late January 1856, after visiting his parents, he sailed from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

on the SS ''Pacific'' which vanished with all aboard under circumstances that remain a mystery to the present day.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oreilly, Bernard 1803 births 1856 deaths 19th-century Irish people 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Irish expatriate Catholic bishops People from County Longford St. Mary's Seminary and University alumni Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Roman Catholic bishops of Hartford People lost at sea

Biography

See also

References

External links