Daniel James Gercke (October 9, 1874 – March 19, 1964) 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 'pre ...

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 the Diocese of Tucson in Arizona from 1923 to 1960.

Biography

Early life

Daniel Gercke was born in the

Holmesburg Holmesburg began as a Village within Lower Dublin Township, Pennsylvania. It is now a neighborhood in the Northeast Philadelphia, Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Holmesburg was named in Honor of Surveyor General of Pennsylvania Th ...

section of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

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, to Christopher and Catherine (née Shea) Gercke. He attended St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia, from where he obtained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in 1891. He completed 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 s ...

studies at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook.

Priesthood

Gercke 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 ...

to the priesthood by Archbishop Patrick Ryan on June 1, 1901. He then served as a curate at St. Joseph's Parish in Girardville, Pennsylvania, and afterwards at Holy Trinity Parish in Philadelphia. He briefly served at St. Mary's in Philadelphia before going to

Vigan City Vigan, officially the City of Vigan ( ilo, Siudad ti Vigan; fil, Lungsod ng Vigan), is a 4th class component city and capital of the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 53,935 people. Lo ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, in 1903. He served 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' ...

of the Diocese of Nueva Cáceres in the Philippines from 1910 to 1919. Gercke was named a domestic prelate by

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

in 1915, and returned to Philadelphia in 1919. He then served as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul.

Bishop of Tucson

On June 21, 1923, Gercke was appointed the third bishop of the Diocese of Tucson by Pope Pius XI. He received his episcopal consecration on November 6, 1923, from Cardinal Dennis Dougherty, with Bishops John MacGinley and James Paul McCloskey serving as co-consecrators.

Retirement and legacy

On September 28, 1960, Pope Paul VI accepted Gercke's resignation as bishop of Tucson and named him as

titular archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Cotyaeum'' on the same date.Daniel Gercke died on March 19, 1964, at age 89.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gercke, Daniel James 1874 births 1964 deaths Saint Joseph's University alumni St. Charles Borromeo Seminary alumni Clergy from Philadelphia 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States