Bertram Orth
Archbishop Emeritus of Victoria (1908–1931) | |
|---|---|
| Orders | |
| Ordination | July 25, 1872 by Giacomo Cattani |
| Consecration | June 10, 1900 by Alexander Christie |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 11, 1848 Lohmar, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| Died | February 10, 1931 (aged 82) Fiesole, Tuscany, Italy |
Bertram Orth (December 11, 1848 – February 10, 1931) was a German-born Canadian prelate of the Catholic Church. He led the Diocese of Victoria from 1900 to 1908, becoming its first and only archbishop in 1903.
Biography
Early life
Bertram Orth was born on December 11, 1848, in the Algert district of
Priesthood in Oregon
Upon his arrival in Oregon in 1872, Orth was appointed to the faculty of St. Michael's College, a school for boys in Portland.[1] He was sent to St. Anne's Mission among the Cayuse people at the Umatilla Indian Reservation in 1873, and appointed pastor of St. Andrew's Church at Canyon City in 1875.[1] In Canyon City, he established a schoolhouse and served as its only teacher.[2] By March 1876, the school had 41 students, 29 of them Catholic, ranging in age from five to 12.[4]
In 1877, Orth became an assistant to Rev. John Fierens at St. Mary's Cathedral in Portland.[1] From 1883 to 1900, he was the founding pastor of St. Lawrence's Church in Portland.[2] In addition to his pastoral duties, he served as editor of the archdiocese's newspaper, the Catholic Sentinel (1881-1882, 1897-1898).[5]
Episcopal career in Canada
On March 24, 1900, Orth was appointed Bishop of Vancouver Island by Pope Leo XIII.[3] He received his episcopal consecration on the following June 10 from Archbishop Alexander Christie, with Bishops Alphonse Glorieux and Edward O'Dea serving as co-consecrators, at St. Andrew's Cathedral.[3]
Though located in
At the beginning of Orth's tenure in 1900, the Diocese of Vancouver Island contained 14 priests, 26 churches including 11 parishes and 15 missions, seven parochial schools with 400 students, and a Catholic population of 9,000.[6] By the end of his tenure in 1908, the Archdiocese of Victoria contained 20 priests, 30 churches including 15 parishes and 15 missions, nine parochial schools with 450 students, and a Catholic population of 15,000.[7] Orth built a new episcopal residence, founded the diocesan newspaper The Orphans' Friend, added stained glass windows and a new organ to St. Andrew's Cathedral, and introduced the Company of Mary and Benedictines to the diocese.[2]
Resignation and later life
Orth found himself in serious conflict with Rev. Peter Joseph Nicolaye, whom Orth removed from his position as vicar general in 1903.[2] In 1907, Nicolaye called a meeting of the diocesan clergy to investigate accusations of sexual misconduct made by two women against Orth.[8] These accusations were forwarded to Rome, along with charges of Jansenism being made against Orth by Nicolaye.[8] The authorities at the Vatican dismissed the charges against Orth as "contradictions, machinations, exaggerations and perhaps intrigue all hiding at the bottom of...[this] disgraceful affair,"[8] but nevertheless requested Orth's resignation rather than have him serve under a cloud of suspicion and scandal.
Jeremiah J. Crowley, a former Catholic priest who later became an anti-Catholic writer, alluded to the situation in Romanism: A Menace to the Nation (1912), mentioning Orth first among "those who have been compelled to flee to escape chastisement, or perhaps death, from outraged husbands, fathers, brothers..."[9] Orth’s successor, Bishop Alexander MacDonald, said in 1909: "Archbishop Orth was...summoned to Rome to answer foul charges laid against him. Cardinal Gotti, who examined the charges, himself told me they were without foundation, but the Archbishop elected rather to resign than go back."[2]
Orth's resignation was announced on May 3, 1908,
23 years after his resignation, Orth died on February 10, 1931, in Fiesole, near Florence, at age 82.[2]
Notes
- ^ The see was originally known as the Diocese of Vancouver Island (erected in 1846). In June 1903, during Ott's term as the see's ordinary, the diocese was elevated and became known as the Archdiocese of Vancouver Island. In September 1904, the see was renamed to Archdiocese of Victoria (Latin: Victoriensis in Insula Vancouver). Finally, after Ott's resignation, but before a successor was appointed, the see was lowered to a diocese to become the Diocese of Victoria (a suffragan to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Vancouver).
References
- ^ a b c d "The New Bishop". Victoria Daily Times. May 7, 1900.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Codd, Kevin A. (2007). A FAVORED PORTION OF THE VINEYARD: A Study of the American College Missionaries on the North Pacific Coast, 1857–1907 (PhD). KU Leuven.
- ^ a b c d e f "Archbishop Bertram Orth". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney.
- ^ Sadliers' Catholic Directory, Almanac, and Ordo. New York: D. & J. Sadlier & Company. 1878.
- ^ a b c Langlois, Ed (February 6, 2016). "Archbishop's found walking stick opens path of history". Catholic Sentinel.
- ^ The Catholic Directory, Almanac, and Clergy List. Milwaukee: M.H. Wiltzius & Company. 1900.
- ^ The Official Catholic Directory. Milwaukee: M.H. Wiltzius & Company. 1908.
- ^ ISBN 9780888643469.
- ^ Crowley, Jeremiah J. (1912). Romanism: A Menace to the Nation.
- Tacoma Daily Ledger. May 4, 1908.
