Patrick Neeson Lynch
The Most Reverend Patrick Neeson Lynch | |
---|---|
Roman Catholic Church | |
See | Diocese of Charleston |
In office | December 11, 1857— February 26, 1882 |
Predecessor | Ignatius A. Reynolds |
Successor | Henry P. Northrop |
Orders | |
Ordination | April 5, 1840 |
Consecration | March 14, 1858 |
Personal details | |
Born | Kibberidogue, County Fermanagh, Ireland | March 10, 1817
Died | February 26, 1882 Charleston, South Carolina, United States | (aged 64)
Education | Seminary of St. John the Baptist Pontifical Urban College |
Signature |
Patrick Neeson Lynch (March 10, 1817 – February 26, 1882) was an
Biography
Early life
Patrick Lynch's birthplace is sometimes attributed to Clones, County Monaghan but he was actually born in the County Fermanagh portion of the Parish of Clones, probably in the townland of Kibberidogue. His parents were Conlaw Peter and Eleanor (née Neison) Lynch. Eleanor's father disapproved of the marriage and disinherited her.
In 1819, the Lynch family immigrated to the United States, settling in Cheraw, South Carolina. Like their neighbors, they became slave owners.[1] Lynch was one of fourteen children, twelve of whom lived to maturity. One sister became a Carmelite nun in Baltimore, another sister became an Ursuline nun; his brother John became a doctor in Columbia, South Carolina.
Lynch studied at the diocesan Seminary of St. John the Baptist, then went to the Pontifical Urban College in Rome,[2] where he graduated with a Doctor of Divinity degree.
Priesthood
Lynch was ordained to the
Bishop of Charleston
After the death of Bishop Reynolds in 1855, Lynch became administrator of the diocese, and succeeded him as bishop. He was
Civil War
A major fire in December 1861 destroyed the Cathedral of Saint John and Saint Finbar, the bishop's residence, and other property, along with the diocesan library. The bombardment of Charleston by the Union Army for nearly two years during the American Civil War closed most of the churches and impoverished the congregations.[2]
Confederate delegate to the Holy See
On February 20, 1864, Lynch was named by President
Postwar
In the 1865 burning of Columbia, South Carolina, St. Mary's College, the Sisters' Home, and the Ursuline Convent were all destroyed. After the end of the war, President Andrew Johnson pardoned Lynch for his role as delegate for the Confederacy. With a diocesan debt exceeding $200,000, Lynch began soliciting donations throughout the country for the immediate needs of his diocese and to pay off the debt. Lynch attended the First Vatican Council in 1869 to 1870.[2] Lynch died in Charleston on February 26, 1882, at age 64
Lynch was a granduncle of
References
- ^ McAuley, Joseph. "The Two Irish Immigrant Churchmen Who Fought the American Civil War", America, April 8, 2015
- ^ a b c Duffy, Patrick Laurence. "Charleston." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 7 February 2020 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ISBN 9780807854006.
- ^ John Bigelow, "The Southern Confederacy and the Pope", in 157 The North American Review 462, 468-75 (1893).
- S2CID 159302314.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Charleston". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Further reading
- Corr, Seán. "Bishop Patrick Lynch of Charleston and his visit to Roslea in 1864." Clogher Record, vol. 20, no. 2, 2010, pp. 359–372.
- Heisser, David C. R., and Stephen J. White Sr. Patrick N. Lynch, 1817-1882: Third Catholic Bishop of Charleston (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2015) 271 pp.
- Madden, Richard C. (1985). Catholics in South Carolina: A Record. University of America Press. ISBN 978-0-8191-4458-4.
- Robert Emmett Curran, ed. For Church and Confederacy: The Lynches of South Carolina (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2019), 410 pp.