Henry Conwell

Roman Catholic
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Henry Conwell (c. 1748 – April 22, 1842) was an Irish-born

Conwell took up the post at an advanced age and spent much of his time there feuding with the lay trustees of his parishes, especially those of St. Mary's Church in Philadelphia. When Conwell removed and excommunicated William Hogan, a controversial priest at St. Mary's, the parish trustees instead rejected Conwell's authority, creating a minor schism. The two sides partially reconciled by 1826, but the Vatican hierarchy believed Conwell had ceded too much power to the laymen in the process and recalled him to Rome.

Although he retained his position, Conwell was compelled to relinquish actual control to his coadjutor bishop, Francis Kenrick. He remained in Philadelphia and performed some priestly duties, but for all practical purposes no longer ran the diocese. He died there in 1842 at the age of about 94.

Early life and priesthood

Conwell was born about 1748 in

There was also a significant dispute (known as trusteeism) over the rights of churches' lay trustees that was likely to complicate the job of running the diocese. In Europe, the Church owned property and directly controlled its parishes through the clergy. In the United States, however, early Catholic churches were typically founded by laymen who purchased the property, and erected the church buildings. Those laypeople accordingly demanded some control over the administration of the parish, even after the arrival of clergy from Europe who held the traditional view of parish organization.^[12] In a larger sense, the dispute represented a difference in understandings of authority between Americans and Europeans.^[13]

Hogan schism

Conwell arrived in Philadelphia on December 2, 1820.^[5] The trusteeism dispute had only grown more bitter during the vacancy preceding his arrival. Shortly before Conwell reached the diocese, a priest, William Hogan, approached de Barth (then administering the diocese until a bishop was appointed) about securing an assignment to preach in Philadelphia.^[14] After only a cursory investigation of his past, de Barth agreed, and Hogan was assigned to St. Mary's Church. Hogan quickly ingratiated himself with the laymen who made up the board of trustees, siding with them in their dispute with the other clergy.^[15] Hogan's general conduct created tension with Conwell. When Conwell arrived, Hogan had already moved out of the priests' residence at Old St. Joseph's Church to a house across the street, claiming that the original accommodations were poor; his detractors said he used the private residence to entertain women. The situation became public when Hogan announced from the pulpit one Sunday that neither Conwell nor anyone else had the right to say where he should live.^[15]

Later that week, Conwell called a meeting of the city's priests and announced that Hogan was suspended. The trustees took Hogan's side, while Conwell condemned the trustees as "despicable ex-Catholics" and "the worst sort of

In 1822, Conwell showed his support for Harold by appointing him as Vicar General of the diocese.[17] The Hogan schism took on new dimensions, however, when Hogan was charged with rape and battery.^[19] Philadelphia mayor Robert Wharton presided over the trial, which captured the city's attention.^[20] Although the jury found him not guilty, Hogan's image was harmed.^[19] A letter from the Pope sided with Conwell but, after initially agreeing to leave the diocese, Hogan reversed himself and stayed on.^[21] The pro-Hogan faction prevailed at St. Mary's trustee elections that year amid bloody rioting between parish members.^[19] The next year, 1823, some Hogan supporters convinced a local woman to bring a paternity suit against Conwell, but the charges were dismissed quickly and the complainant was convicted of perjury.^[19] In an 1824 letter to the National Gazette, Hogan proposed the creation of an "American Catholic Church" with more independence from Rome.^[22] By this time, Hogan had begun to lose the trustees' support.^[22] At some point soon thereafter, he left the city.^[21]

In hopes of healing the schism, in October 1826, Conwell partially capitulated to the trustees, yielding to them the right of determining salaries and of vetoing his appointments.^[5] In return, they recognized him as bishop and senior pastor of the church. The bishop would henceforth appoint St. Mary's pastor, but the trustees would be permitted to arbitrate any disagreements on appointments before a neutral board.^[23]

Recall to Rome

The trustees soon renounced the agreement. When word of the compromise reached the Holy See, the Vatican also objected, condemning Conwell's surrender of episcopal rights. Harold, writing to Rome, claimed that Conwell had had little to do with the compromise, which he blamed on Father Michael Hurley and Conwell's Protestant lawyer, Josiah Randall.^[c][25] Conwell saw Harold's conduct as a betrayal, and removed him as Vicar General, appointing Hurley in his place.^[25] The trustees put aside their former enmity for Harold and took his side against Conwell, going so far as to petition Rome for Conwell's removal as bishop.^[25] By this time, as Arthur Ennis wrote in 1976, the "old and confused" Conwell considered leaving the diocese if he could secure another see in Ireland.^[26]

In 1827, the Vatican's

In Baltimore, Conwell professed his obedience to Rome and swore he would gladly retire from active governance of his diocese.^[28] The following year, the Vatican appointed Francis Kenrick as Conwell's coadjutor bishop with the right of succession and named him administrator of the diocese.^[28] Conwell never gave up his titles or his claim to exercise authority in the diocese, and his relationship with Kenrick remained rocky.^[29] He received permission to resume performing liturgical functions without any say in administration, and spent his remaining years in seclusion and prayer.^[5] He lived on for several years, although he lost his sight, preventing him from performing most of his few remaining duties.^[10]

Conwell died on April 22, 1842, at about the age of 94. Kenrick succeeded to the title of bishop of Philadelphia. Conwell's death led to one final controversy, as the old bishop's nephews and nieces sued for possession of the Bishop's Burial Ground, claiming it had been Conwell's private possession. Under threat of excommunication, they withdrew their claim.^[30] Conwell's remains were buried in St. Mary's churchyard. In 1864 the remains were transferred to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.^[31]

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