Bertram Orth (December 11, 1848 – February 10, 1931) was a German-born Canadian prelate of the
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 led the
Diocese of Victoria from 1900 to 1908, becoming its first and only
archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
in 1903.
Biography
Early life
Bertram Orth was born on December 11, 1848 in the Algert district of
Lohmar
Lohmar ( Ripuarian: ''Luhme'') is a town in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Geography
Lohmar is located about 20 km east of Cologne and 15 km north-east of Bonn in the Bergisches Land area. Because it is on ...
, near
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
, to Johannes Wilhelm Orth and Anna Catharina Müller.
He entered the
American College of Louvain
The American College of the Immaculate Conception, or the American College of Louvain is a former Roman Catholic seminary in Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1857, it was operated by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to prepare Euro ...
in 1868, studying to become a missionary priest for the
Archdiocese of Oregon City.
He was ordained to the priesthood on July 25, 1872 by Archbishop
Giacomo Cattani, the
Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium
The Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium is the holder of a diplomatic position within the Catholic Church, who acts as Ambassador of the Holy See to the Belgium.
Diplomatic relations between the Belgian state (1830) and the Holy See began in 1835. Until ...
.
Priesthood in Oregon
Upon his arrival in Oregon in 1872, Orth was appointed to the faculty of St. Michael's College, a school for boys 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 ...
.
[ He was sent to St. Anne's Mission among the Cayuse people at the ]Umatilla Indian Reservation
The Umatilla Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It was created by The Treaty of June 9, 1855 between the United States and members of the Walla, Cayuse, and Umatilla tribes. It lies in nort ...
in 1873, and appointed pastor of St. Andrew's Church at Canyon City in 1875.[ In Canyon City, he established a schoolhouse and served as its only teacher.][ By March 1876, the school had 41 students, 29 of them Catholic, ranging in age from five to 12.]
In 1877, Orth became an assistant to Rev. John Fierens at St. Mary's Cathedral in Portland.[ From 1883 to 1900, he was the founding pastor of St. Lawrence's Church in Portland.][ In addition to his pastoral duties, he served as editor of the archdiocese's newspaper, the '']Catholic Sentinel
The ''Catholic Sentinel'' was the Catholic newspaper of the Archdiocese of Portland. Reportedly the oldest Catholic newspaper on the West Coast, it was published by Oregon Catholic Press, which also published ''El Centinela'', a Spanish-language ...
'' (1881-1882, 1897-1898).
Episcopal career in Canada
On March 24, 1900, Orth was appointed 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 Canada, Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. Its ...
by 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 on the following June 10 from Archbishop Alexander Christie, with Bishops ]Alphonse Glorieux
Alphonse Joseph Glorieux (February 1, 1844 – August 25, 1917) was a Belgian-born missionary and prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Boise in Idaho from 1893 until his death in 1917. He previousl ...
and Edward O'Dea serving as co-consecrators, at St. Andrew's Cathedral.[
Though located in ]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, ...
, the Diocese of Vancouver Island was a suffragan diocese
A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ...
of the American Archdiocese of Oregon City, creating a politically difficult situation that was opposed by Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...
.[ In June 1903, in one of the final acts of Pope Leo XIII before his death in July, the diocese was elevated to the rank of a metropolitan archdiocese and Orth became its first archbishop.][ The archdiocese was renamed the Archdiocese of Victoria by ]Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...
in September 1904.[
At the beginning of Orth's tenure in 1900, the Diocese of Vancouver Island contained 14 priests, 26 churches including 11 parishes and 15 missions, seven parochial schools with 400 students, and a Catholic population of 9,000.] By the end of his tenure in 1908, the Archdiocese of Victoria contained 20 priests, 30 churches including 15 parishes and 15 missions, nine parochial schools with 450 students, and a Catholic population of 15,000. Orth built a new episcopal residence, founded the diocesan newspaper ''The Orphans' Friend'', added stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
windows and a new organ to St. Andrew's Cathedral, and introduced the Company of Mary
The Missionaries of the Company of Mary is a missionary religious congregation within the Catholic Church. The community was founded by Saint Louis de Montfort in 1705 with the recruitment of his first missionary disciple, Mathurin Rangeard. The co ...
and Benedictines
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
to the diocese.[
]
Resignation and later life
Orth found himself in serious conflict with Rev. Peter Joseph Nicolaye, whom Orth removed from his position as 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 ...
in 1903.[ In 1907, Nicolaye called a meeting of the diocesan clergy to investigate accusations of sexual misconduct made by two women against Orth.] These accusations were forwarded to Rome, along with charges of Jansenism
Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by t ...
being made against Orth by Nicolaye.[ The authorities at the Vatican dismissed the charges against Orth as "contradictions, machinations, exaggerations and perhaps intrigue all hiding at the bottom of...]his
His or HIS may refer to:
Computing
* Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company
* Honeywell Information Systems
* Hybrid intelligent system
* Microsoft Host Integration Server
Education
* Hangzhou International School, in ...
disgraceful affair,"[ but nevertheless requested Orth's resignation rather than have him serve under a cloud of suspicion and scandal.
Jeremiah J. Crowley, a former Catholic priest who later became an anti-Catholic writer, alluded to the situation in ''Romanism: A Menace to the Nation'' (1912), mentioning Orth first among "those who have been compelled to flee to escape chastisement, or perhaps death, from outraged husbands, fathers, brothers..."] Orth’s successor, Bishop Alexander MacDonald, said in 1909: "Archbishop Orth was...summoned to Rome to answer foul charges laid against him. Cardinal Gotti, who examined the charges, himself told me they were without foundation, but the Archbishop elected rather to resign than go back."[
Orth's resignation was announced on May 3, 1908,] and he was given the honorary title of Titular Archbishop of Amasea.[ His resignation was publicly attributed to "reasons of health" and he retired to Italy, where he would spend the rest of his life while also serving as a chaplain to a congregation of nuns.][ In October 1908, following Orth's resignation, the Archdiocese of Victoria was demoted to a simple diocese under the ]Archdiocese of Vancouver
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver ( la, Archidioecesis Vancouveriensis) is a Roman Catholic Latin archdiocese that includes part of the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Its cathedral archiepiscopal see is the Holy Rosary Cathed ...
.[
23 years after his resignation, Orth died on February 10, 1931 in ]Fiesole
Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times.
Sin ...
, near Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, at age 82.[
]
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orth, Bertram
1848 births
1931 deaths
20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Canada
People from Rhein-Sieg-Kreis
Roman Catholic bishops of Victoria in Canada
Clergy from North Rhine-Westphalia
Canadian Roman Catholic archbishops
Canadian Roman Catholic bishops