Edward John Herrmann (November 6, 1913 – December 22, 1999) 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 Columbus The Diocese of Columbus ( la, Dioecesis Columbensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church covering 23 counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The episcopal see of the diocese is situated at Columbus. The dioce ...

in Ohio from 1973 to 1982. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington D.C. from 1966 to 1973.

Biography

Early life

Herrmann was born in

Baltimore, Maryland 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 ...

, on November 6, 1913, the son of Episcopalian parents, Walter E. and Jennie Doyle Herrmann, who owned a small grocery store. Walter Herrmann died in the

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

. Edward Herrmann was baptized a Catholic in 1919. Herrmann attended St. Bernard and St. James grade schools, then graduated from Loyola High School in Baltimore in 1931. He then went to work for the

American Oil Company Amoco () is a brand of filling station, fuel stations operating in the United States, and owned by BP since 1998. The Amoco Corporation was an American chemical and petroleum, oil company, founded by Standard Oil Company in 1889 around a oil re ...

in Baltimore during the Great Depression. After deciding to enter the priesthood, Herrmann studied at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Priesthood

Herrmann was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Baltimore-Washington on June 12, 1947, in Baltimore’s Cathedral of the Assumption by Auxiliary Bishop John McNamara. He served as pastor and assistant chancellor.

Auxiliary Bishop of Washington

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 State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

appointed Herrmann as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington and titular bishop of

Lamzella Lamzella was a ''civitas'' (town) in the Roman–Berber province of Numidia. It has been tentatively identified with the ruins at Henchir-Resdis in modern Algeria. Lamzella also served as the seat of the ancient Roman Catholic episcopal see o ...

on March 4, 1966. He was consecrated by Archbishop Patrick O'Boyle on April 26, 1966 at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington. 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' ...

and chancellor of the archdiocese.

Bishop of Columbus

Herrmann was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Columbus on June 26, 1973 by Pope Paul VI; Hermann was installed as its ninth bishop on August 21, 1973. Herrmann helped establish Operation Feed in Columbus, a countywide food drive that now provides millions of meals every year to people in the Columbus area. He also reorganized the diocese into the 15 vicariates and instituted the Emmaus Spirituality Program for priests.

Retirement and legacy

Pope John Paul II accepted Herrmann's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Columbus on September 18, 1982. He served as

diocesan administrator :''See: Catholic Church hierarchy#Equivalents of diocesan bishops in law'' A diocesan administrator is a provisional ordinary of a Roman Catholic particular church. Diocesan administrators in canon law The college of consultors elects an admin ...

until April 25, 1983, when Bishop James A. Griffin succeeded him. In retirement, Herrmann resided at St. Ann's Infant and Maternity Home in Avondale, Maryland. However, he returned to Columbus in November 1991 to assist the bishop in the diocese. Edward Herrmann died on December 22, 1999, in Columbus and was buried in the crypt of St. Joseph Cathedral there.

References

External links

Diocese of Columbus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrmann, Edward John 1913 births 1999 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism Mount St. Mary's University alumni Religious leaders from Baltimore Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington Roman Catholic bishops of Columbus 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Religious leaders from Washington, D.C.