John Joseph Hennessy

John Hennessy was born near Cloyne, County Cork, to Michael and Ellen (née Cronin) Hennessy.[1] In 1850 he and his parents came to the United States, where they settled at St. Louis, Missouri.[2] He received his early education at the local cathedral school and the Christian Brothers College in Town and Country, Missouri, graduating there in 1862.[2] He completed his theological studies at St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and his philosophical studies at St. Vincent College in Cape Girardeau.[1]

Hennessy was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Joseph Machebeuf for the Archdiocese of St. Louis on November 28, 1869.[3] At age 22, he was below the age requirement for ordination, but was granted a dispensation by Pope Pius IX.[1]

Hennessy then served as pastor of a parish in Iron Mountain, Missouri, with his jurisdiction extending as far south as Arkansas.[2] He erected churches in Missouri at Bismarck, Doniphan, Poplar Bluff, Gatewood, Graniteville, and Farmington.[1] Hennessy established the Catholic Railroad Men's Benevolent Union in 1871, a convent for the Ursuline Sisters at Arcadia in 1877, and the first total abstinence society in southeast Missouri.[2]

In 1878, Hennessy was elected procurator and vice-president of the Catholic Protectory for Boys at Glencoe, Missouri.[1] He became rector of St. John's Church at St. Louis in 1880.[2] That same year, he became editor of the St. Louis Youths' Magazine and in 1882 secretary of the St. Louis Orphan Board.[1] He also served as treasurer of the diocesan clergy fund and spiritual director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.[1]

On February 11, 1888, Hennessy was appointed the first bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Wichita by Pope Leo XIII.[3] He was technically the second Bishop of Wichita, as Rev. James O'Reilly was appointed the first bishop in 1887, but died before his episcopal consecration.[4] Hennessy was consecrated on November 30, 1888, by Archbishop Peter Kenrick, with Archbishop John Hennessy and Bishop Louis Fink serving as co-consecrators.[3]

In 1890, Hennessy persuaded the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother to come to the United States and take over management of St. Francis Hospital in Wichita.[5]In 1898 he convened the first diocesan synod.[6] He broke ground for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita in April 1906 and laid the cornerstone the following October; it was later dedicated by Cardinal James Gibbons in September 1912.[6] Between 1891 and 1898, he also served as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Concordia in Kansas.[3]

On July 13, 1920, Hennessy suffered a stroke and died in Wichita a few hours later. He was buried from the Cathedral which he erected.[7]