Francis J. Haas

Francis Joseph Haas (March 18, 1889 – August 29, 1953) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids in Michigan from 1943 until his death in 1953.

The Most Reverend

Francis Joseph Haas
Bishop of Grand Rapids
Hass holding news conference as chair of Fair Employment Practices Commission, 1942.
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
SeeDiocese of Grand Rapids
In officeNovember 18, 1943 -
August 29, 1953
PredecessorJoseph C. Plagens
SuccessorAllen James Babcock
Other post(s)Mediator, National Labor Board
Chair, President's Committee on Fair Employment Practice
Orders
OrdinationJune 11, 1913
by Joseph Maria Koudelka
ConsecrationNovember 18, 1943
by Amleto Cicognani
Personal details
Born(1889-03-18)March 18, 1889
Racine, Wisconsin, US
DiedAugust 29, 1953(1953-08-29) (aged 64)
Grand Rapids, Michigan, US
BuriedResurrection Cemetery, Wyoming, Michigan, US
EducationSt. Francis Seminary
Johns Hopkins University
Catholic University of America

An advocate for organized labor, Haas served as a U.S. Government labor mediator for major labor strikes before being appointed bishop.

Biography

Early life

Francis Haas was born on March 18, 1889, in Racine, Wisconsin, to Peter Francis Haas and Mary Lucy O'Day.[1] In 1904, he entered at St. Francis Seminary in St. Francis, Wisconsin.[2]

Priesthood

Haas was ordained on June 11, 1913, for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Bishop Joseph Maria Koudelka in Racine.[2] After his ordination, Haas was assigned as an assistant pastor at Holy Rosary Parish in Milwaukee. He also became a faculty member two years later at St. Francis Seminary.[2]

In 1919, Haas entered the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., obtaining a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1922.[2]Haas also attended Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. After returning to Milwaukee in 1922, he started teaching economics at both St. Francis Seminary and Marquette University.[2][3] Haas also served as a member of the civil service examining board for Milwaukee County.[3]

Haas returned to Washington in 1931 to become director of the National Catholic School of Social Service (NCSSS) at Catholic University.[4] He was also named by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933 to the new National Labor Board in Washington.[2] On July 18, 1934, Haas travelled to Minneapolis, Minnesota to mediate a work stoppage by delivery truck drivers who belonged to the Teamsters Union.[5] With the onset of World War II, Haas reportedly participated in the mediation of 1500 labor disputes.[6]

Leaving Washington in 1935, Haas was appointed rector of St. Francis Seminary in Wisconsin. He received a Doctor of Law degree in 1936 from the University of Wisconsin. Haas also served as president of the Catholic Association for International Peace.[7]

Bishop of Grand Rapids

In 1943, Hass resigned as chair of the President's Committee on Fair Employment Practice to become the bishop of Grand Rapids, Michigan.[8] Pope Pius XII appointed him bishop on September 26, 1943, and he was consecrated by Archbishop Amleto Cicognani on November 18, 1943.[1] [2]

He was a member of President Harry Truman's President's Committee on Civil Rights from 1946 to 1947. In 1951, Haas published the book Man and Society. It became a common college textbook for sociology classes.[6]He hosted a National Liturgical Conference at the Grand Rapids Civic Auditorium in 1953

Death and legacy

Francis Hass died on August 29, 1953, of a heart attack.[9] The Bishop Haas Council 4362 of the Knights of Columbus in Wyoming, Michigan was named in his honor.

Awards

References
  1. "Grand Rapids Diocese Has New Bishop". The Ludington Daily News. October 2, 1943. p. 1. Retrieved June 12, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  2. "HAAS, Francis Joseph" (PDF). Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  3. "Dr. Francis J. Haas is new St. Francis seminary rector | Newspaper Article/Clipping". Wisconsin Historical Society. 2012-01-01. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  4. "Francis J. Haas (1889-1953)". The Ludington Daily News. 1943-10-02. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  5. "Federal Men Seek Minneapolis Peace". The New York Times (July 19). July 19, 1934. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
  6. T, )ecJal to (1953-08-30). "BISHOP. HAAS DEAD; A FRIEND OF'LABOR; Grand Rapids Prelate Served 'as Head of First F, E, P, C,~ Was Noted Sociologist". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  7. "Dr. Francis Haas is new St. Francis Seminary Rector". Catholic Herald Citizen (Nov. 9). 1935. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  8. "Mgr. Haas resigns as job bias arbiter". The New York Times (October 3). October 3, 1943. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  9. Ancona, Gaspar F. Where the Star Came to Rest page 108, 2001 ISBN 2-7468-0317-8

Further reading
  • Blantz, Thomas E. A priest in public service: Francis J. Haas and the New Deal. University of Notre Dame Press, 1982 ISBN 0-268-01547-3
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