Patrick James Donahue (April 15, 1849 – October 4, 1922) was an English-born

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 Wheeling in West Virginia from 1894 until his death in 1922.

Biography

Early life

Patrick Donahue was born on April 15, 1849, in

Little Malvern Little Malvern is a small village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It is situated on the lower slopes of the Malvern Hills, south of Malvern Wells, near Great Malvern, the major centre of the area often referred to as ''The Malverns' ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

, in the United Kingdom. He became a student at St. Michael's Priory in

Hereford, England Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population of ...

, at age 14 and entered St. Gregory's College near

Bath, England Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

two years later. After graduating in 1869, he taught English and mathematics. In 1873, Donahue immigrated to the United States and settled in Washington, D.C. He enrolled at George Washington University Law School and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1876. He then practiced for the next seven years. In 1883, after deciding to prepare for the priesthood, Donahue entered St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland.

Priesthood

Donahue 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 ...

to the priesthood for the

Archdiocese of Baltimore The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore ( la, link=no, Archidiœcesis Baltimorensis) is the premier (or first) see of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore and nine of M ...

by Archbishop

James Gibbons James Cardinal Gibbons (July 23, 1834 – March 24, 1921) was a senior-ranking American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Apostolic Vicar of North Carolina from 1868 to 1872, Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as ninth ...

on December 19, 1885. After his ordination, Donahue served as an

assistant priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

at St. John's Parish in Baltimore. He served as chancellor of the archdiocese from 1886 to 1891, and

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Assumption of the Blessed Mary Cathedral in Baltimore from 1891 to 1894.

Bishop of Wheeling

On January 22, 1894, Donahue was appointed the third bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on April 8, 1894, at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral from Cardinal Gibbons, with Bishops John Foley and

Leo Haid Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Arts ...

serving as co-consecrators. Donahue established 38 parishes, six missions, four hospitals, two

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

, an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or ab ...

and several schools in the diocese. He also established the first official diocesan periodical, ''The Church Calendar'', in 1895 and held the sixth diocesan synod in 1899. The number of priests serving the diocese more than tripled and the number of Catholics increased from 20,000 to 62,000. For all these many achievements, he earned the nickname of the "Great Builder." Donohue's friendship with New York philanthropist Sara Tracy resulted in a large cash donation to found

Wheeling Jesuit University Wheeling University (WU, formerly Wheeling Jesuit University) is a private Roman Catholic university in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was founded as Wheeling College in 1954 by the Society of Jesus (also known as the Jesuits) and was a Jesuit inst ...

in Wheeling. Tracy and Donahue had met on a transatlantic voyage in 1899 and became friends over a long game of chess. At the end of the trip, Tracy gave Donahue $5,000 to use in his diocese. The start of several donations, Tracy bequeathed her estate to Donahue in 1905. Patrick Donahue died on October 4, 1922, in Wheeling from heart disease at age 72.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donahue, Patrick James 1849 births 1922 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Wheeling–Charleston 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States English emigrants to the United States George Washington University Law School alumni People from Malvern, Worcestershire St. Mary's Seminary and University alumni