Anthony O'Regan (27 July 1809 – 13 November 1866) was an

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics () are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland, defined by their adherence to Catholic Christianity and their shared Irish ethnic, linguistic, and cultural heritage.The term distinguishes Catholics of Irish descent, particul ...

prelate who served as Bishop of Chicago from 1854 to 1858.

Biography

Early life

Anthony O'Regan was born in Lavalleyroe,

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

, and studied at

Maynooth College St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland. The college and national seminary on its grounds are often referred to as Maynooth College. The college was of ...

in Maynooth, Ireland. O'Regan was ordained to the priesthood on 29 November 1834 for the Archdiocese of Tuam in Tuam, Ireland, by Archbishop

John MacHale John MacHale (; 6 March 1789 (or 1791) – 7 November 1881) was the Irish Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tuam, and Irish nationalist. He laboured and wrote to secure Catholic emancipation, legislative independence, justice for tenants and the ...

. Following his

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

, MacHale appointed O'Regan as professor of

scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

, Hebrew language and

dogmatic theology Dogmatic theology, also called dogmatics, is the part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and God's works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Chu ...

St. Jarlath's College St Jarlath's College () is a Catholic co-educational secondary school in Tuam, County Galway. The college was founded in 1800 and in 2009 absorbed St. Patrick's College, Tuam. The College, which operates under patronage of the Archbishop of Tua ...

in Tuam. He was named president of the college in 1844. In 1849, Archbishop Peter Kenrick of the Archdiocese of St. Louis recruited O'Regan to head the newly established

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

in Cardondelet, then a village near

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

Bishop of Chicago

On 9 December 1853, O'Regan was appointed the third bishop of Chicago by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

. Feeling that he lacked the pastoral experience to run a diocese, O'Regan refused the appointment. However, when Pius IX told him to accept it, O'Regan acquiesced. He received his

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

on 25 July 1854, from Kenrick, with Bishops

James Oliver Van de Velde James Oliver Van de Velde, SJ (April 3, 1795 – November 13, 1855) was a Belgian-born Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Natchez from 1853 to his death. He was a member of the Jesuits. Van de Velde previously served as Bishop of Chica ...

and

John Henni John Martin Henni (June 15, 1805 – September 7, 1881) was a Swiss-born Catholic prelate who served as the first Archbishop of Milwaukee from 1843 until his death in 1881. Biography Early life and education John Henni was born on June 15, 1805 ...

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 Churche ...

, at the Cathedral of St. Louis. While still in St. Louis, O'Regan suffered a nervous illness. After recovering from his illness, O'Regan arrived in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

; he was installed as bishop on 3 September 1853. He soon began construction on a new episcopal residence, completed in 1856. O'Regan purchased property for several churches and Calvary Cemetery. An able administrator and strong disciplinarian, O'Regan alienated many clergy with his management style. The French-Canadian community also came into conflict with him, stating that he stole a plot of land from a parish that was planning to build a church. They also accused him of stealing priestly vestments from a parish. In return, O'Regan castigated the French-Canadian community several times in the Chicago press. A crash in the Chicago real estate market in 1857 was another stressor for O'Regan. Unable to cope with the diocese and in declining health, O'Regan traveled to Rome in 1857 to submit his resignation as bishop of Chicago; Pius IX accepted on 25 June 1858, and named him

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 Dora.

Death and legacy

O'Regan retired to London, England, where he befriended Cardinals

Nicholas Wiseman Nicholas Patrick Stephen Wiseman (3 August 1802 – 15 February 1865) was an English Roman Catholic prelate who served as the first Archbishop of Westminster upon the re-establishment of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales in 1 ...

and

Henry Edward Manning Henry Edward Manning (15 July 1808 – 14 January 1892) was an English prelate of the Catholic Church, and the second Archbishop of Westminster from 1865 until his death in 1892. He was ordained in the Church of England as a young man, but co ...

. O'Regan died from

liver disease Liver disease, or hepatic disease, is any of many diseases of the liver. If long-lasting it is termed chronic liver disease. Although the diseases differ in detail, liver diseases often have features in common. Liver diseases File:Ground gla ...

on 13 November 1866 at age 57. His

funeral mass A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect the ...

was celebrated by Archbishop MacHale at Tuam Cathedral, and his remains were buried in Cloonfad, Ireland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oregan, Anthony 1809 births 1866 deaths 19th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Irish emigrants to the United States Christian clergy from County Mayo Roman Catholic bishops of Chicago