Francis Marion Taitt (January 3, 1862 – July 17, 1943) was the ninth bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania The Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America encompassing the counties of Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Chester and Delaware in the state of Pennsylvania. The Diocese has 36,641 ...

The Episcopal Church The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine Ecclesiastical provinces and dioces ...

and served from 1931 to 1943.

Career

Taitt was born in

Burlington, New Jersey Burlington is a city in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 9,743. Burlington was first incorporated on October 24, 1693, and was r ...

, and moved with his family to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

at age 8. He graduated from Philadelphia Divinity School in 1883. He served for four years as curate of Old St. Peter's Church in central Philadelphia, five and a half years as rector of Old Trinity Church in Philadelphia's Southwark neighborhood, and 37 years as rector of Old St. Paul's Church in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

. On October 4, 1929, he was elected Bishop Coadjustor, and became head of the diocese in 1931 following the death of Bishop Thomas J. Garland. In 1937, he organized a pageant, entitled The Drama of Missions, with 1,300 actors. On June 24, 1940, Taitt offered the invocation at the opening of the second session of the

1940 Republican National Convention The 1940 Republican National Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from June 24 to June 28, 1940. It nominated Wendell Willkie of New York for president and Senator Charles McNary of Oregon for vice president. The contest for the 19 ...

Death

Bishop Taitt was hospitalized for abdominal surgery at Crozer Hospital,

Upland, Pennsylvania Upland is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Upland is governed by an elected seven-member borough council. The population was 3,239 at the 2010 census, up from 2,974 at the 2000 census. Geography Upland is located in so ...

, where he died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

, on July 17, 1943. His remains were entombed in the crypt of the Episcopal Cathedral, now St. Mary's Church, Roxborough, Philadelphia."RITES FOR BISHOP TAITT: Three Services Held for Head of the Pennsylvania Diocese", ''New York Times'', July 22, 1943

References

External links

Program for Francis Marion Taitt's memorial service
from the archives of St. Clement's Church, vi
Philadelphia Studies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taitt, Francis Marion 1862 births 1943 deaths People from Burlington, New Jersey Clergy from Philadelphia Deaths from pneumonia in Pennsylvania Episcopal bishops of Pennsylvania

Career

Death

See also

References

External links