Gerald Patrick Aloysius O'Hara (May 4, 1895 – July 16, 1963) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (1929-1935), as bishop of the

Diocese of Savannah The Diocese of Savannah is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the southern United States comprising 90 of the southern counties of the state of Georgia.

in Georgia (1935–1959), as

apostolic nuncio to Ireland The Apostolic Nunciature to Ireland the diplomatic mission of the Holy See to Ireland. It is located in Dublin. The position of Apostolic Nuncio is currently vacant. The Apostolic Nunciature to Ireland is an ecclesiastical office of the Cathol ...

(1951–1954), and as apostolic delegate to Great Britain (1954–1963).

Biography

Early life and education

O'Hara was born in the Green Ridge section of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Patrick James and Margaret (née Carney) O'Hara. His father was a

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...

. He attended Our Mother of Sorrows School and St. Joseph's College High School, both in Philadelphia. From 1911 to 1918, O'Hara studied at

St. Charles Borromeo Seminary Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania that is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The oldest Catholic institution of higher learning in the Philadelphia region, the school ...

in Overbrook, Pennsylvania. He then entered the Pontifical Roman Seminary in Rome, obtaining a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

degree in 1921.

Ordination and ministry

O'Hara was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia by Cardinal Basilio Pompili in Rome on April 3, 1920. He earned a doctorate in canon and civil law from the Pontifical Roman Athenaeum Saint Apollinare in 1924. He spent several years studying abroad, traveling through Europe and the Middle East. Following his return to Pennsylvania in 1926, O'Hara became private secretary to Cardinal Dennis Dougherty, the archbishop of Philadelphia. O'Hara also served as a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

on the archdiocesan matrimonial court.

Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia

On April 26, 1929, O'Hara was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and titular bishop of Heliopolis in Phoenicia 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 May 21, 1929, from Cardinal Dougherty, with Bishops John MacGinley and Thomas O'Reilly 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 the

Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, head church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is located at 18th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, on the east side of Logan Square in Philadelphia. It was built between ...

in Philadelphia. In addition to his episcopal duties, O'Hara served as pastor of the Nativity B.V.M. Parish in Port Richmond, Philadelphia, and as vicar general of the archdiocese. O'Hara also was president of the American Catholic Historical Association from 1934 to 1936.

Bishop of Savannah

On November 26, 1935, O'Hara was appointed the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Savannah, succeeding Bishop

Michael Keyes Michael John Keyes (21 March 1886 – 8 September 1959) was an Irish Labour Party politician and trade unionist. He was born on 21 March 1886 at 41 Blackboy Pike, Limerick city, the second son of Michael Keyes, caretaker, and his wife Hannah ...

. In 1936, the diocese was renamed as the Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta. With the creation of the separate Diocese of Atlanta in 1956, the Diocese of Savannah regained its original name. During his tenure, O'Hara erected the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta, which was dedicated by in January 1939. The cathedral was built on the former site of

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

gatherings, and O'Hara even invited Imperial Wizard Hiram Wesley Evans to the dedication. O'Hara once criticized at the ''Savannah Press'' after the newspaper ran a whimsical

St. Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

editorial repeating the old fable crediting Saint Patrick with having granted women the privilege to woo during leap years. He was considered a leader in church efforts to improve race relations, launching a seven-point social and racial program in the 1930s, calling for aid to African American children and heightened awareness of rural issues.

Papal Representative to Romania

In addition to his role as diocesan bishop, O'Hara was named regent of the apostolic nunciature to Romania, in Bucharest, on February 19, 1947. His vicar general and

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

assumed the active administration of the Diocese of Savannah. During his three years in Romania, O'Hara repeatedly denounced the Communist Government of Romania for its persecution of Roman Catholics and Greek Catholics. On July 4, 1950, in a meeting at the foreign ministry, O'Hara was accused of spying for the United States, the United Kingdom and Turkey. O'Hara's Romanian chauffeur, on trial for espionage, had previously implicated O'Hara and other staff members. O'Hara later said the man had been tortured and forced to lie. The meeting at the foreign ministry ended with O'Hara being expelled from Romania; he left the same day. On returning to New York City, O'Hara denied the Romanian allegations, calling them "lies from first to last". O'Hara accused the Romanian Government of terrorism, insisting, "Our interest was solely the welfare of 3,000,000 Catholic people in Romania."

Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland

On July 12, 1950, O'Hara was granted the personal title of

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

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 ...

. Shortly afterwards, he was appointed

on November 27, 1951. In 1953, Paul Blanshard, author and critic of the Catholic Church, petitioned the U.S. Department of State to revoke O'Hara's American citizenship. Blanshard claimed that O'Hara was violating the McCarran Act by serving as an agent of a foreign power (the Vatican). The State Department dismissed Blanshard's petition

Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain

On June 8, 1954, O'Hara was named apostolic delegate to Great Britain. As apostolic delegate, his jurisdiction also included Malta,

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, and Bermuda. In May 1958, O'Hara was admitted to St. Anthony at Cheam Hospital with a severe case of bronchial pneumonia after returning to London from a foreign trip. Drained by his dual duties as papal diplomat and diocesan bishop, he resigned as Bishop of Savannah on November 12, 1959; he was named titular archbishop of ''Pessinus'' by Pope John XXIII on the same date. In 1960 he became the first papal representative to visit the British Houses of Parliament in more than 400 years.

Death

O'Hara died on July 16, 1963, from a heart attack at his residence in the

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

section of London, aged 68. His Requiem Mass was celebrated by Archbishop John Heenan at Westminster Cathedral in London. His body was then flown back to Philadelphia, where he is buried in the

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

of the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohara, Gerald Patrick Aloysius 1895 births 1963 deaths People from Scranton, Pennsylvania 20th-century American Roman Catholic titular archbishops Participants in the Second Vatican Council Apostolic Nuncios to Ireland Roman Catholic bishops of Savannah, Georgia Apostolic Nuncios to Great Britain 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Catholics from Pennsylvania