Francis Doyle Gleeson, S.J. (January 17, 1895 – April 30, 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 was the first bishop of the Diocese of Fairbanks in Alaska from 1962 to 1968, previously serving as

vicar apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of the Alaska Vicariate from 1948 to 1962.

Biography

Early life

Francis Gleeson was born on January 17, 1895, in Carrollton,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, to Charles and Mary (Doyle) Gleason, but later moved with his family to

Yakima Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninco ...

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. He received his early education at the

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...

of St. Joseph's Church in Yakima. Gleeson then attended Marquette Catholic High School in Yakima before entering

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the univ ...

in Spokane, Washington. He entered the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

in 1912, and studied philosophy at Mount St. Michael Scholasticate in Spokane. Gleeson then went to study

theology 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 ...

at St. Francis Xavier College in

Oña Oña is a municipality and town located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2011 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 1,219 inhabitants. Main sights * Benedictine monastery of San Salvador de Oñ ...

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Priesthood

Gleeson 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 Bishop Jaime Viladrich y Gaspar for the Society of Jesus in Oña on July 29, 1926. Returning to Washington, he served as rector of

Bellarmine Preparatory School Bellarmine Preparatory School is a private, Roman Catholic, coeducational high school run by the USA West Province of the Society of Jesus in Tacoma, Washington, United States. It is located in the Archdiocese of Seattle. Today it serves just ...

in Tacoma, Washington. He was then appointed as superior of St. Stanislaus Mission in Lewiston,

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

; rector of the Jesuit novitiate in

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Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

; and superior of St. Mary's Indian Mission in

Omak, Washington Omak ( #merriam, Merriam (1997), p. 869) is a city located in the foothills of the Okanagan Highland, Okanogan Highlands in north-central Washington (state), Washington, United States. With an estimated 4,845 residents as of 2010, distributed ov ...

Bishop of Fairbanks

On January 8, 1948,

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

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named Gleeson as

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 Cotenna and vicar apostolic of Alaska. He was consecrated a bishop on April 8, 1948, by Archbishop Edward Howard. The co-consecrators were Bishops Charles White and Martin Johnson. When the Diocese of Juneau was erected on June 23, 1951, the Diocese of Fairbanks was reduced to

Northern Alaska Arctic Alaska or Far North Alaska is a region of the U.S. state of Alaska generally referring to the northern areas on or close to the Arctic Ocean. It commonly includes North Slope Borough, Northwest Arctic Borough, Nome Census Area, and is ...

On August 8, 1962, Pope

John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

named Gleeson as the first bishop of the Diocese of Fairbanks. From 1962 to 1965, he 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) ...

in Rome.

Resignation and legacy

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 ...

accepted Gleeson's resignation as bishop of Fairbanks on November 15, 1968, and named him titular bishop of Cuicul. Francis Gleeson died on April 30, 1983. In a 2004 lawsuit, Gleeson was accused of shielding a

lay worker In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...

accused of sexually abusing multiple boys in several

Native Alaskan Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entertai ...

villages. Thirty-three men from villages such as Stebbins, St. Michael and

Hooper Bay Hooper Bay ( esu, Naparyaarmiut) is a city in Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 1,375, up from 1,093 in 2010. On August 3, 2006, a major fire destroyed approximately fifteen acres of the city in ...

, accused Joseph Lundowski of multiple attacks. The suit said that Gleeson was aware of Lundowski's crimes, transferring him from one place to another.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gleeson, Francis Doyle Roman Catholic bishops of Fairbanks 1895 births 1983 deaths People from Carrollton, Missouri Apostolic vicars of Alaska 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Participants in the Second Vatican Council 20th-century American Jesuits Jesuit bishops Catholics from Missouri