Emmett McLoughlin (born John Patrick McLoughlin; February 3, 1907 – October 9, 1970) was a former

Catholic 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 ...

priest of the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

order who became known in the 1930s as an advocate for low-income housing in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. He left the priesthood in 1948 in order to remain superintendent of St Monica's (later Phoenix Memorial) Hospital and wrote a number of books, including his autobiography ''People's Padre''. ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine called him "America's best-known ex-priest".

Life

McLoughlin grew up in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, and entered St. Anthony's Seminary in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

. He took the name Emmett during his novitiate in the

order. After his

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...

in 1933 he was assigned to

South Phoenix South Phoenix is a region of Phoenix, Arizona. By one definition it encompasses an area south of the Salt River, north of Roeser Road, east of 24th Street, and west of 32nd Street. History The first land purchase recorded in South Phoenix occu ...

, a segregated area in

, and began work there that would last for 14 years. He founded St Monica's Catholic Church for

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

and

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

residents in the neighborhood, and became known for his activism via the attached community center and medical clinic. Together they came to be known as the "Father Emmett Mission". He pushed for the Matthew Henson public housing projects (opened in 1940) and became chairman of the Phoenix Housing Authority. ''

'' magazine said that "soon young Father McLoughlin began to be almost as well known in Phoenix as the mayor." The clinic developed into St. Monica's Hospital in 1944, eventually becoming Phoenix Memorial Hospital. In ''People's Padre'', McLoughlin says that some priests in the area objected to the clinic treating

venereal disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral se ...

. McLoughlin also encouraged workers to smuggle scorpion antivenom from Mexico. McLoughlin's Franciscan

superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places *Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lake ...

s charged him with neglect of his priestly duties and ordered him to resign as superintendent of the hospital. McLoughlin decided that his work for the hospital and urban renewal was more important than his vow of obedience, and resigned as a member of the Catholic priesthood on December 1, 1948 to remain head of the hospital.Too Material
(December 13, 1948) ''

''. Accessed 2023-01-28. He had the support of its board of directors, many of whom were Catholic. In August 1949 he married Mary Davis. He met her when she came to work at Phoenix Memorial Hospital working in the Medical Records Department. He noted in his 1954 book ''People's Padre'' that he did not lose faith in God after leaving the priesthood, but found he read more of the Bible and religious periodicals. He has been criticized in Catholic circles for not following the

vow A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath. A vow is used as a promise, a promise solemn rather than casual. Marriage vows Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedd ...

of obedience to the Church that he had taken as a Franciscan. McLoughlin criticized the Church for requiring young men to take such a vow, often without having experience of life outside school and seminary. He also criticized the Catholic parochial school system, and alleged that a Catholic plot had existed to assassinate Abraham Lincoln, criticisms which fed

anti-Catholicism 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 ...

in America in the 1950s and 1960s. He also joined

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. In early 1970, Mcloughlin was still administrator of Phoenix Memorial.Priests and Nuns: Going Their Way
(February 23, 1970) ''

''. Accessed 2023-01-28. He later moved to

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, where he died on October 9, 1970. He is buried in Berwyn Cemetery in

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

Legacy

The city of Phoenix named the Emmett McLoughlin Community Training & Education Center in his honor.City Dedicates Building in Honor of Community Activist
(June 13, 2006) ''Phoenix.gov''. Accessed 2023-01-28.

Works

* ''People's Padre: an Autobiography'' (Boston : Beacon Press, 1954). * ''American Culture and Catholic Schools'' (New York: Lyle Stuart, Inc., 1960). * ''Crime and Immorality in the Catholic Church'' (New York: Lyle Stuart, Inc., 1962). * ''An Inquiry in the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln'' (New York: Lyle Stuart, Inc., 1963). * ''Letters to an ex-priest'' (New York: Lyle Stuart, Inc., 1965). * ''Famous Ex-Priests'' (New York: Lyle Stuart, Inc., 1968).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLoughlin, Emmett 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests 1907 births 1970 deaths Critics of the Catholic Church American conspiracy theorists American hospital administrators