Jeremiah O'Callaghan

Last updated

Jeremiah O'Callaghan (1780-1861) was an Irish Roman Catholic priest born in 1780 in Dooneens, a townland near Macroom, Co. Cork. [1] He was known for his views against usury and his ministries in Vermont and Massachusetts in the 19th century.

Contents

Early Career & Controversy

He was educated at St. Patrick's, Carlow College [2] before being ordained by Bishop William Coppinger in 1805. He was first appointed as a curate in Cape Clear and then sent to Aghnakishey in Country Cork in the Diocese of Cloyne and Ross. [3] [4]

O'Callaghan became bothered by the concept of usury in 1819 and studied its history in ecclesiastical law. Through his studies, he concluded that usury went against the word of God. When he refused to absolve a local corn-dealer known for charging interest during last rites, other local businessmen complained. Bishop Coppinger punished O'Callaghan by barring him from refusing sacraments from usurers. Later, Coppinger forbid him from delivering Mass and vowed to use his clout to ensure no other bishop would hire him. [5]

O'Callaghan in America

O'Callaghan was a native speaker of the Irish language. In July 1830, he conducted an Irish-language mass in the Cathedral in Boston. [6]

Vermont

O'Callaghan was sent to Burlington, Vermont, by Benedict Joseph Fenwick S.J. in 1830 as the first resident priest. [7] In 1833, Father O'Callaghan had St. Mary's church built in St. Albans, north of Burlington. [8] O'Callaghan served in Vermont for 23 years and was known as the "Apostle of Vermont." [9] [10]

Massachusetts

O'Callaghan was appointed as the first resident priest of Holyoke, Massachusetts in 1856. Under his leadership, St. Jerome's Catholic Church was established that same year. He died in Holyoke in 1861. [11]

Writing

In 1834, O'Callaghan self-published Usury, Funds, and Banks : Also, Forestalling Traffick, and Monopoly. [1] In this work, he shared a brief autobiography and a detailed description of his controversy with Bishop William Coppinger.

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Vermont, United States

The Diocese of Burlington is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church for Vermont in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John England (bishop)</span> 1st Roman Catholic Bishop of Charleston, South Carolina

John England was an Irish-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Charleston, which then covered three Southern States.

Cornelius "Con" Lucey (1902–1982) was a Roman Catholic Bishop of Cork and Ross.

Jeremiah Joseph Coffey was the seventh Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Sale, Australia, serving from 1989 until his retirement in 2008. On retirement, he was styled Bishop Emeritus of Sale.

Events from the year 1747 in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Clogher</span> Catholic diocese in Ireland

The Diocese of Clogher is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Ireland. It was formed in 1111 at the Synod of Rathbreasail as the see for the Kingdom of Uí Chremthainn. It is part of the Province of Armagh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis de Goesbriand</span> French Roman Catholic bishop (1816–1899)

Louis Joseph Marie Théodore de Goesbriand was a French-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Burlington in Vermont from 1853 until his death in 1899.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Stephen Michaud</span> American prelate

John Stephen Michaud was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Burlington in Vermont from 1899 until his death in 1908.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremiah F. Shanahan</span> American prelate

Jeremiah Francis Shanahan was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the first bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg in Pennsylvania from 1868 until his death in 1886.

John Aloysius Marshall was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Burlington in Vermont from 1972 to 1992 and bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts from 1992 until his death in 1994.

Most Rev. Kenneth Anthony Angell was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Burlington in Vermont from 1992 to 2005. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Providence in Rhode Island from 1974 to 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Thomas O'Reilly</span> Catholic bishop

Patrick Thomas O'Reilly was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts from 1870 to 1892.

John Walter Shanahan was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg in Pennsylvania from 1899 until his death in 1916.

Jeremiah J. Crowley was an American Catholic priest who later became an anti-Catholic writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne</span> Catholic diocese in Ireland

The Diocese of Cloyne is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Ireland. It is one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cashel.

Jeremiah Joseph Doyle, was an Irish born Catholic bishop, the bishop of Grafton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Power (Vicar-General for New York)</span> Irish-American Catholic priest (1792–1849)

John Power was an Irish-born American Catholic priest who served as the pastor of St Peter's Roman Catholic Church in New York City as well as the Vicar General for the Diocese of New York. He administered the Catholic Diocese of New York during interregnum between the death of Bishop John Connelly and the appointment of Bishop John Dubois.

Charles Tuohy (1754–1828) was an Irish Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Limerick from 1813 to 1828.

Bishop William Coppinger (1753-1830) was an Irish Catholic priest, who served as Bishop of Cloyne and Ross, from 1791 until his death.

John Joseph Carroll DD was an Irish born priest who served as Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lismore in Australia, for 39 years.

References

  1. 1 2 Jeremiah O'Callaghan (1834). Usury, funds, and banks; also forestalling traffick, and monopoly [&c.] ... are all repugnant to ... Oxford University.
  2. Carlow College - Two Hundred Years of Education by Fr. John McEvoy, Carloviana No 40. 1992.
  3. "O'Callaghan, Jeremiah | Dictionary of Irish Biography". www.dib.ie. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  4. "Jeremiah O'Callaghan". bogvaerker.dk. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  5. Michell, John (1984). "The Diehard Priest Who Opposed Capitalism". Eccentric Lives and Peculiar Notions. Thames and Hudson. pp. 51–52.
  6. Glazier, Michael (1999). "Jeremiah O'Callaghan (1780-1861)". The Encyclopedia of the Irish in America. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press. p. 471. ISBN   0-268-02755-2. OCLC   41076211.
  7. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE BURLINGTON ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF BURLINGTON, www.vermontcatholic.org
  8. Irish Settlers in Vermont
  9. An raibh tú ag an gCarraig? Deep in Vermont’s woods lies the story of West Cork’s Rev. Jeremiah O’Callaghan www.westcorkpeople.ie, 5 August 2016.
  10. Lucey, William (September 1953). "The Diocese of Burlington, Vermont: 1853". The Diocese of Burlington, Vermont: 1853. 64 (3): 123–154 via JSTOR.
  11. Osgood, Gilbert C. (1890). Story of the Holyoke Churches. Holyoke, Mass. : Transcript Pub. Co. p. 51.