John Joseph Keane
Encyclopedia
John Joseph Keane was an American Roman Catholic archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

 in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Early Life & Ministry

Keane was born in Ballyshannon
Ballyshannon
Ballyshannon is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is located where the N3 and N15 cross the River Erne, and claims to be the oldest town in Ireland.-Location:...

, County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...

, Ireland, to Hugh and Fannnie (Connolly) Keane. He was one of five children, and the family immigrated to the United States when he was seven years old. He was educated at Saint Charles College
St. Charles College, Maryland
St. Charles College was a seminary college in Catonsville, Maryland, originally from Ellicott City, Maryland.- 1776:Charles Carroll of Carrollton signs the Declaration of Independence for Maryland. One of the wealthiest men in the Americas, Carroll staked his fortune on the American Revolution...

, Ellicott City, Maryland
Ellicott City, Maryland
Ellicott City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland, United States. It is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The population was 65,834 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Howard County...

, and at Saint Mary's Seminary
St. Mary's Seminary and University
St. Mary's Seminary and University is a Roman Catholic seminary in Baltimore, Maryland; it was the first seminary founded in the United States of America.-History:...

, Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

. On July 2, 1866 he was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Baltimore
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore as well as Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Howard, and Washington Counties in Maryland...

 by Archbishop Martin John Spalding
Martin John Spalding
Martin John Spalding was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Louisville and Archbishop of Baltimore .-Early life and education:...

 and was made curate of St. Patrick's Church in Washington, D.C., where he spent 12 years. He helped form both the Catholic Total Abstinence Union of America
Catholic Total Abstinence Union of America
The work of Father Mathew in promoting temperance across the U.S. led to the establishment of numerous separate and independent Catholic temperance groups. The Catholic temperance societies of Connecticut created a state union in 1871, from which a national union was formed the following year at a...

 and the Catholic Young Men's National Union
Catholic Young Men's National Union
The Catholic Young Men's National Union was a Roman Catholic voluntary organisation set up in the USA in 1875. Its object was the intellectual, moral, and physical advancement of Catholic youth.-History:...

 in 1872, and the Carroll Society in 1873. He also established the Tabenacle Society in Washington that worked among poor churches throughout the United States.

Bishop of Richmond

On March 28, 1878 Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

 Leo XIII appointed Keane as the fifth Bishop of Richmond
Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond is an ecclesiastical and episcopal see or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. Its current territory was created by Pope Paul VI and encompasses all of central and southern Virginia, Hampton Roads, and the eastern shore...

 when he was 38 years old. He was consecrated bishop on August 25, 1878 by Archbishop James Gibbons of Baltimore, who was his predecessor in Richmond. Bishops John Joseph Kain
John Joseph Kain
John Joseph Kain was a Roman Catholic priest who would eventually become Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis, and the first native-born American to hold that office.-Biography:...

 of Wheeling
Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southern United States comprising the state of West Virginia. It is a conjoined diocese with two centers of worship, one day expected to be split into two separate...

 and Thomas Patrick Roger Foley
Thomas Patrick Roger Foley
Thomas Patrick Roger Foley was a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. He served as Coadjutor Bishop of Chicago from March 10, 1870 until his death on February 19, 1879....

 of Chicago
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
The Archdiocese of Chicago was established as a diocese in 1843 and as an Archdiocese in 1880. It serves more than 2.3 million Catholics in Cook and Lake counties in Northeastern Illinois, a geographic area of 1,411 square miles. The Archdiocese is divided into six vicariates and 31 deaneries...

, were the principal co-consecrators. He established the Confraternity of the Holy Ghost in the diocese, and published A Sodality Manual for the Use of the Servants of the Holy Ghost in 1880. Despite opposition, he founded schools and churches for African-Americans. He lectured before Protestant groups throughout the diocese to lessen prejudice against the church. In 1884 he attended the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore
Plenary Councils of Baltimore
The Plenary Councils of Baltimore were three national meetings of Roman Catholic bishops in the 19th century in Baltimore, Maryland.During the early history of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States all of the dioceses were part of one ecclesiastical province under the Archbishop of Baltimore...

. The following May he was appointed by the Council to the committee to establish a Catholic university in the United States.

Catholic University of America

Bishop Keane was appointed as the first rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 of The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...

, Washington, D.C., in 1886 while he continued as Bishop of Richmond. On August 12, 1888 he was relieved of his responsibilities in Richmond and named Titular Bishop
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 Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...

 of Iasus so that he could focus his attention on establishing the new school.

He soon gained a reptation as an administrator and an orator who was widely quoted in the press. At the same time he became aligned with the more progressive wing of the hierarchy because of the stances he took. He advocated for the Knights of Labor
Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor was the largest and one of the most important American labor organizations of the 1880s. Its most important leader was Terence Powderly...

, took part in the Cahenslyism
Peter Cahensly
Peter Paul Cahensly , a German merchant who lived in the Hessian town Limburg an der Lahn. He was a member of the German Reichstag and a wealthy lay officer of the Roman Catholic Church....

 controversy, the quick Americanization of immigrants, the full representation of the Catholic Church at the Parliament of the World's Religions
Parliament of the World's Religions
There have been several meetings referred to as a Parliament of the World’s Religions, most notably the World's Parliament of Religions of 1893, the first attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths. The event was celebrated by another conference on its centenary in 1993...

 in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 and his positions on the school question. His democratic and liberal
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...

 policies made him enemies with more conservative members of the U.S. Hierarchy and those at the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

, whence there came in 1896 a request for his resignation as rector.

Rome

On January 29, 1897 Pope Leo XIII named him the Titular Archbishop of Damascus. He spent the years 1897 to 1899 as canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....

 of St. John Lateran
Basilica of St. John Lateran
The Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran , commonly known as St. John Lateran's Archbasilica and St. John Lateran's Basilica, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope...

, Assistant at the Pontifical Throne
Assistant at the Pontifical Throne
Assistant at the Pontifical Throne is an ecclesiastical title in the Roman Catholic Church. It signifies a prelate belonging to the papal chapel, who stands near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions....

, and counsellor to the Propaganda
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in Rome is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for missionary work and related activities...

. He lived in two rooms at the Pontifical Canadian College. He was attacked during the Americanism
Americanism
Americanism may refer to:* Americanization* A word or phrase considered typical of American English, English as spoken in the United States* An attitude or conviction which gives special importance to the nation, national interest, political system, or culture of the United States* Americanism ,...

 controversy that began to sweep through Europe "as a rationalist, throwing all dogma over to modern ideas." He fought, and won, the battle to clear his name. In 1899 he was relieved of his responsibilities in Rome to raise funds for Catholic University, which was facing financial difficulties.

Archbishop of Dubuque

On July 24, 1900 Pope Leo XIII appointed Archbishop Keane as the fourth bishop and second archbishop of Dubuque
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. It includes all the Iowa counties north of Polk, Jasper, Poweshiek, Iowa, Johnson, Cedar, and Clinton counties. ...

. He once again took a prominent part in the Catholic Young Men's National Union and in the Total Abstinence Union of North America, and lectured widely on temperance
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...

, education and American institutions. He encouraged postgraduate courses and ongoing education for priests, and doubled the faculty and buildings of St. Joseph's (now Loras
Loras College
Loras College is a four-year Catholic college located in Dubuque, Iowa, with a general attendance of approximately 1,700 students. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programs...

) College. Twelve academies for girls and two for boys were constructed in the archdiocese.

On January 15, 1902 the Diocese of Sioux City
Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux City
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux City is the Roman Catholic diocese for the northwestern quarter of the state of Iowa, US The diocese comprises 24 counties in northwestern Iowa, and it covers an area of ....

 was established from the western half of the archdiocese. His friend and associate at Catholic University, the Rev. Philip Joseph Garrigan
Philip Joseph Garrigan
Philip Joseph Garrigan was a Roman Catholic clergyman.Garrigan was born in Whitegate, Ireland in 1840, he came to the United States with his parents, and received his elementary education in the public schools of Lowell, Massachusetts. He pursued his classical course at St...

, was appointed Sioux City's first bishop. The current boundaries of the archdiocese would not be established until 1911 after his resignation.

He served as archbishop until poor health forced him to request an auxiliary bishop
Auxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...

 or a coadjutor. No such appointment was made and he submitted his resignation instead. It was accepted by Pope St. Pius X on April 28, 1911, and he was named Titular Archbishop of Cius. He resided in the cathedral rectory in Dubuque until his death in 1918. Following his death Keane was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in nearby Key West
Key West, Iowa
Key West is an unincorporated community in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, near the extreme southern end of the city of Dubuque. Parts of the community are now within the city of Dubuque, while others are unincorporated. Owing to the presence of U.S. Highways 151, 61, and 52, and the nearby...

.

Archbishop Keane was succeeded by Bishop James John Keane
James Keane (Archbishop)
- External links :...

 of Cheyenne
Roman Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne is a Roman Catholic diocese covering the state of Wyoming. It was founded on August 2, 1887 by Pope Leo XIII...

. Even though both men had the same last name, they were not related. Local citizens have also drawn comparisons between the two men. John Keane was known as "Sugar" due to his kind and generous nature. James Keane was nicknamed as "Hickory" due to his stern personality.

A selection from his writings and addresses was edited by Maurice Francis Egan under the title Onward and Upward: A Year Book (Baltimore, 1902).
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