Edward John O'Dea (November 23, 1856 – December 25, 1932) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Nesqually in Washington State from 1896 until 1907. When the Vatican renamed the diocese as the Diocese of Seattle in 1907, O'Dea served as its bishop until his death in 1932. O'Dea was responsible for the construction of St. James Cathedral in Seattle, Washington.

Biography

Early life

Edward O'Dea was born in the Dorchester neighborhood of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, to Edward and Ellen (née Kelly) O'Dea, both Irish immigrants. Edward O'Dea elder traveled west during the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

in 1849. The family settled in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, in 1866. Edward O'Dea younger attended St. Ignatius College in San Francisco, California and graduated from St. Michael's College in Portland in 1876. He continued his studies at the Grand Seminary of Montréal in Montreal, Quebec.

Priesthood

O'Dea was

ordained 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 ...

to the priesthood by Archbishop

Édouard-Charles Fabre Édouard-Charles Fabre (; February 28, 1827 – December 30, 1896) was Bishop of Montréal in 1876 and first Archbishop of Montreal in 1886. Life Fabre was the eldest of 11 children in an important Montreal business family. His father Édou ...

on December 23, 1882. Following his return to Portland, he served as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Parish. He served as private secretary to Archbishop William Gross until 1892, when he became

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of St. Patrick's Church in Portland.

Bishop of Nesqually

On June 13, 1896, O'Dea was appointed the third Bishop of Nesqually by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

.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 States ...

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

on September 8, 1896, from Archbishop Gross, with Bishops

Jean-Nicolas Lemmens Jean-Nicolas Lemmens (also Joannes Nicolaas Lemmens or Joannes Nicolaus Lemmens) (3 June 1850, in Schimmert – 10 August 1897, in Cobán (Guatemala)) was a Dutch Catholic priest and Bishop of Victoria, Vancouver Island, Canada. He was a strong su ...

and Alphonse Glorieux 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 St. James Cathedral (now a proto-cathedral) in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. When he took office, O'Dea was confronted with financial difficulties, including a $25,000 debt for the construction of the cathedral in Vancouver.

Bishop of Seattle

The Vatican renamed the diocese as the Diocese of Seattle on September 11, 1907, and moved the seat of the diocese from Vancouver to Seattle's

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...

. O'Dea dedicated St. James Cathedral later that year. He guided the diocese through

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the

anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...

sentiment engendered by Initiative 49. This was a

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

-sponsored initiative in the Washington

State Legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

to ban parochial schools. His final accomplishment was the establishment of

St. Edward Seminary Saint Edward Seminary (sometimes Saint Edward's Seminary) was an institution for developing Catholic priests in the US state of Washington. Dedicated to Saint Edward the Confessor and located in Kenmore, it operated for 46 years before closing ...

in Kenmore, Washington, in 1930.

Death and legacy

O'Dea died on December 25, 1932, at age 76, two days after celebrating the 50th anniversary of his ordination. His final words were "God bless you all."

O'Dea High School O'Dea High School is a Roman Catholicism, Catholic all boys high school founded in 1923 and is located in Seattle's First Hill, Seattle, First Hill neighborhood. The school is named after Edward John O'Dea who was bishop of Seattle when the sch ...

in Seattle was named after O'Dea.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Odea, Edward John 1856 births 1932 deaths Roman Catholic clergy from Boston American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States History of Seattle Roman Catholic bishops of Nesqually Roman Catholic bishops of Seattle St. Ignatius College Preparatory alumni People from Dorchester, Boston