William David O'Brien (August 3, 1878 – February 19, 1962) 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

Roman 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 an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the

Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. The Vatican erected it as a diocese in 1843 and elevated it to an ar ...

from 1934 until his death in 1962, and was named an

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 ...

in 1953.

Early life and education

William O'Brien was born 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 ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, to Charles D. and Alice M. (née O'Hara) O'Brien. He received his early education at Kinzie Grade School and at the Christian Brothers' school at Holy Name Cathedral. In 1899, he became one of the first two graduates of St. Vincent's College (later DePaul University) in Chicago. He then studied for the priesthood at Kenrick Seminary in

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 ...

. O'Brien 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 ...

a priest by Archbishop

James Edward Quigley James Edward Quigley (October 15, 1854 – July 10, 1915) was a Canadian-born American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Chicago from 1903 to 1915. He previously served as Bishop of Buffalo from 1897 to 1903. Biography Early life a ...

on July 11, 1903.

Priesthood

His first assignment was 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 ...

a
St. Basil's Church
on 1850 Garfield Boulevard, where he remained for four years. In 1907, he was named assistant to Monsignor

Francis Kelley Francis Clement Kelley (October 23, 1870 – February 1, 1948) was a Canadian-born Catholic bishop. He was the second Bishop of Oklahoma City, as well as an author and diplomat. He was a Catholic priest for 54 years, and bishop for 23 year ...

, director of the

Catholic Church Extension Society Catholic Extension (also known as the Catholic Church Extension Society) is a national fundraising 501(c)(3) organization which supports and strengthens poor mission dioceses across the United States. They provide funding and resources to diocese ...

. In addition to his duties with the Extension Society, O'Brien 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. John's Church on 100 W. 18th Street in 1924. He was named a

papal chamberlain A papal gentleman, formally 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 ...

in 1924, and raised to the rank of

domestic prelate Domestic may refer to: In the home * Anything relating to the human home or family ** A domestic animal, one that has undergone domestication ** A domestic appliance, or home appliance ** A domestic partnership ** Domestic science, sometimes cal ...

in 1926. He was the first priest to receive papal honors from the archdiocese's first

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

George Mundelein George William Mundelein (July 2, 1872 – October 2, 1939) was an Catholic Church in the United States, American Catholic who served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, Archbishop of Chicago from 1915 until his death in 1939. He was elevat ...

. He became president of the Extension Society in 1925, after Monsignor Kelley was appointed Bishop of Oklahoma. As president, he also served as

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

of the monthly ''Extension Magazine''.

Episcopacy

On February 10, 1934, O'Brien was appointed

of Chicago and

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 ''Calynda'' by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

. 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 the following April 25 from Cardinal Mundelein, with Bishops Joseph Patrick Lynch and

Bernard James Sheil Bernard James Sheil (February 18, 1888 – September 13, 1969) was an Auxiliary Roman Catholic Bishop of Chicago. Biography Born and raised in Chicago, Sheil was ordained a priest on May 3, 1910. He was named auxiliary Bishop of Chicago in 1 ...

, at Holy Name Cathedral. As an auxiliary bishop, he continued to serve as president of the Extension Society and pastor of St. John's Church, both offices which he held until his death. In 1927, O'Brien attended an event sponsored by the Fascist Government of Italy. He was dressed in bishop's vestments for the occasion. During the playing of the

Giovinezza "" (; ) was the official hymn of the Italian National Fascist Party, Fascist Italy, regime, and army, and was an unofficial national anthem of the Kingdom of Italy between 1924 and 1943.Farrell, Nicholas. 2005. ''Mussolini: a New Life''. Sterlin ...

, the Italian Fascist anthem, O'Brien gave a

roman salute The Roman salute, also known as the Fascist salute, is a gesture in which the right arm is fully extended, facing forward, with palm down and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it is held out pa ...

, another trademark of fascism. In 1940, Italy gave O'Brien the Commander of the Order of the Crown Award. O'Brien was named an

Assistant at the Pontifical Throne The Bishops-Assistant at the Pontifical Throne were ecclesiastical titles in the Catholic Church. It designated prelates belonging to the Papal Chapel, who stood near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions. They ranked immediately below the ...

in 1947. On November 18, 1953, O'Brien was elevated to the rank of

Titular Archbishop 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 ''Calynda'' by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

. ''

L'Osservatore Romano ''L'Osservatore Romano'' is the daily newspaper of Vatican City which reports on the activities of the Holy See and events taking place in the Catholic Church and the world. It is owned by the Holy See but is not an official publication, a role ...

'' reported that his elevation was due to his "tireless work" with the Extension Society. He was the first Catholic bishop in the United States who was not the head of a

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, prov ...

to be named an archbishop. O'Brien was unanimously re-elected president of the Extension Society in 1954. In his later years, he relinquished the editorship of the ''Extension Magazine'' and delegated many of his administrative duties, but still closely following the society's activities and frequently visiting its headquarters. He died at Little Company of Mary Hospital in

San Pierre, Indiana San Pierre is a census-designated place (CDP) in Railroad Township, Starke County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 144 at the 2010 census. History Established and laid out in 1854, the area was originally called ''Culvertown' ...

, at age 83.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, William David 1878 births 1962 deaths Clergy from Chicago 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States DePaul University alumni Kenrick–Glennon Seminary alumni Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago Religious leaders from Illinois Catholics from Illinois 20th-century American Roman Catholic titular archbishops