Edward Daniel Howard (November 5, 1877 – January 2, 1983) 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

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. He served as the Auxiliary Bishop of Davenport from 1924 to 1926 and the

Archbishop of Portland The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon (''Archidioecesis Portlandensis in Oregonia'') is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It encompasses the western part of the state of Oregon, from the s ...

from 1926 to 1966. At the time of his death in 1983 he was the oldest Catholic bishop in the world.

Early life and education

Edward Howard was born in Cresco,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, to John and Marie (née Fleming) Howard. His father, who was born in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

but immigrated to the United States as a child, served during the

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with the

95th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 95th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Recruitment The 95th Illinois was formed as a result of President Abraham Lincoln's call for 300,000 volunteers in ...

and was wounded at the

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Missis ...

. Howard had a

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brother who died in infancy. He attended St. Joseph College in

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

, where he received his

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

education and completed two years of college. He continued his studies at St. Mary College in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

and at St. Paul Seminary in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Priesthood

Howard 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 ...

to the priesthood by 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 nomina ...

on June 12, 1906. He then returned to St. Joseph College, where he served as professor of

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and

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at the high school department. He served as principal of the high school from 1908 until 1916, when he became

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the college. From 1921 to 1924, he served as

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of St. Joseph's.

Episcopacy

On December 23, 1923, Howard was appointed auxiliary bishop of the

Diocese of Davenport The Diocese of Davenport ( la, Diœcesis Davenportensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church for the southeastern quarter of the U.S. state of Iowa. There are within the diocese. The diocese's eastern ...

and

titular bishop 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 ''

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'' by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

. He received his

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on April 8, 1924 from Archbishop

Austin Dowling Daniel Austin Dowling (April 6, 1868 – November 29, 1930) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the second archbishop of what was then the Archdiocese of Saint Paul in Minnesota from 1919 until his death. Dowling se ...

, with Bishops Daniel Gorman and Thomas Drumm 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 St. Raphael's Cathedral in Dubuque. As an auxiliary bishop, he assisted Bishop

James J. Davis James John Davis (October 27, 1873November 22, 1947) was a Wales, Welsh-born American businessman, author and Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He served as United States Secre ...

for two years. Following the death of Archbishop Alexander Christie, Howard was appointed the fifth Archbishop of Oregon City on April 30, 1926. His installation took place at St. Mary's Cathedral 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 ...

on August 26 of that year. On September 26, 1928, the name of the archdiocese was changed from ''Oregon City'' to ''Portland in Oregon''. During his tenure as archbishop, Howard created a chancery in the cathedral

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

, later transferring it to a separate building. He reorganized the

St. Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was a Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys. Afte ...

and Holy Name Societies, fostered the growth of

Catholic Charities The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations. Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spir ...

, and removed 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 ...

'' from private ownership. In 1931, Howard led a successful campaign to repeal local zoning ordinances that prohibited the building of churches and parochial schools. He convened the Fourth Provincial Council of the archdiocese in 1932, and held a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

for the clergy in 1935. In 1939, he founded Central Catholic High School in Portland and was named an

Assistant at the Pontifical Throne The Bishops-Assistant at the Pontifical Throne were ecclesiastical titles in the Roman Catholic Church. It designated prelates belonging to the Papal Chapel, who stood near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions. They ranked immediately below ...

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

in 1939. He convened the Fifth Provincial Council of the archdiocese in 1957, and attended all four sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

between 1962 and 1965.

Later life and death

After forty years as archbishop, Howard retired on December 9, 1966; he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Albulae by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

on the same date. He served as

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the archdiocese until the installation of his successor,

Robert Joseph Dwyer Robert Joseph Dwyer (August 1, 1908 – March 24, 1976) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the fifth Archbishop of Portland from 1966 to 1974, having previously served as the second Bishop of Reno (1952–66). Early ...

. Howard spent his retirement a
Maryville Nursing Home
in Beaverton, where he died at age 105. He is interred at Mount Calvary Cemetery. At the time of his death, he was the oldest Catholic prelate in the world.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Edward 1877 births 1983 deaths Participants in the Second Vatican Council American centenarians Men centenarians Loras College alumni University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) alumni Roman Catholic archbishops of Oregon City Roman Catholic archbishops of Portland in Oregon Saint Mary's Academy and College alumni 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport People from Cresco, Iowa Burials at Mount Calvary Cemetery (Portland, Oregon) Religious leaders from Iowa Catholics from Iowa Loras College faculty