William N. McNulty (1829–1922) was an American

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 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 ...

and

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

, who arrived in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

from his native

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 crosses the River Erne. Incorporated in 1613, it is one of the oldest towns in Ireland. Location B ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, in 1850, during the Great Famine. In the mid nineteenth century, there few Catholic facilities in

Passaic County, New Jersey Passaic County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the population of Passaic County was enumerated at 524,118, an increase of 22,892 (4.6%) from t ...

. He is responsible for much of the foundation of the structural and institutional infrastructure of the Catholic Church's presence in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.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 ...

's appointment of himself as

domestic prelate Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

. McNulty, sometimes called Father "Mac", represented the

moral authority Moral authority is authority premised on principles, or fundamental truths, which are independent of written, or positive, laws. As such, moral authority necessitates the existence of and adherence to truth. Because truth does not change, the princi ...

within the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and German Catholic communities in Paterson. Contemporary reports credit McNulty with helping to diffuse the

1880 Garret Rock May Day riot The 1880 Garret Rock May Day riot or 1880 Garret Mountain May Day riot was a civil disorder event in New Jersey that harshly protested oligarchical power. Riot For many years Paterson, New Jersey’s mostly Catholic German immigrant community ha ...

when he addressed the rioters. During his lifetime, the Pope named him to the office of

papal chamberlain A Papal Gentleman, also called a Gentleman of His Holiness, is a lay attendant of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. Papal gentlemen serve in the Apostolic Palace near St. Peter's Basilica in ceremonial positions, such as escorting d ...

, an office typically reserved for

European nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

. McNulty was buried in front of Paterson's St. John's Church under a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

monument which depicts him counseling a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

youth.

Contribution to the Catholic infrastructure of Paterson, New Jersey

Throughout his 65-year career, McNulty acted as the moving force behind the creation of much of the foundation of

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.St. John (later in 1937 upon that

Diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

's formation renamed Cathedral Church of the Diocese of Paterson),

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

St. Agnes Agnes of Rome () is a virgin martyr, venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Anglican Communion and Lutheran Churches. St. Agnes is one of several virgin martyrs comm ...

St. Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

, Our Lady of Victories, St. Michael and St. Ann's Churches, Holy

Sepulcher A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immuremen ...

Cemetery, St. Joseph's Hospital, St. Agnes Institute Girls' School, St. Francis Home for Working Girls, the Home for the Indigent Poor and Aged, Mt. St. Joseph's Home for Boys and convents for Dominican and orders of teaching sisters.

1880 Garret Rock May Day riot

McNulty was so revered by the

and German Catholic communities of Paterson that his appearance at the 1880 Garret Rock May Day rioting – at request of then Paterson Mayor Graham and Sheriff Van Voorhies – was enough to diffuse the mob to the point where the constabulary could act to end the

rioting A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

Later life

In 1908, McNulty was presented a purse of

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

24,000 for his personal use on the occasion of his

golden jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...

in the priesthood. He used the funds to build the Mount St. Joseph Home for Boys. Throughout his service as a parish priest, he would often use his

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...

to help feed hungry families within his

or help pay the

college tuition Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spending (by governments and other public bo ...

of poor parish youth. He was also known for maintaining the church's food and housing funds by wresting pay envelopes from

reprobate Reprobation, in Christian theology, is a doctrine which teaches that a person can reject the gospel to a point where God in turn rejects them and curses their conscience. The English word ''reprobate'' is from the Latin root ''probare'' (''Engl ...

parishioners before they could spend them in Paterson's bars. It is said that Paterson's barkeeps came to fear the Reverend Father more than they did the police or mob.

Ku Klux Klan protest of the Reverend Father's burial

When McNulty died in 1922 at the age of 93, Paterson Mayor Frank J. Van Noort declared the day of his funeral a holiday, closing both parochial and secular schools and ordering flags to be flown at

half mast Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salut ...

. This was met with protests from the

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 ...

on the grounds that such honors violated

separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...

."Ku Klux Protest Honor to Late Dean", ''New York Times'', 22 June 1922.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McNulty, William N. 19th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests People from Ballyshannon 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests 1829 births 1922 deaths 19th-century American Roman Catholic priests

Contribution to the Catholic infrastructure of Paterson, New Jersey

1880 Garret Rock May Day riot

Later life

Ku Klux Klan protest of the Reverend Father's burial

See also

References