Shepherding this vast territory was Bishop Jeremiah F. Shanahan, a thirty-four year old priest and seminary rector from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. His new diocese already had a rich history extending back to the seventeenth century when priests from the Diocese of Quebec traveled south on the Susquehanna River. This "highway of missionaries" was the frontier path for evangelizing Native American Indian tribes until the end of the French and Indian War. Rev. John Pierron from Canada was the first priest who can be traced to Pennsylvania in 1673.

In 1704, under English rule, Jesuit priests established a base in Bohemia Manor, Maryland, from which they traveled north and east ministering to scattered Catholics throughout Pennsylvania. This activity, more than one hundred fifty years before the formal establishment of the diocese, is the key to the historical foundation of the oldest parish communities in the diocese today.

Prior to the Revolutionary War, governments of the thirteen original colonies imposed significant legal barriers on Catholics including prohibitions to public worship, office holding, voting and owning property. Catholics were often seen as represented by a foreign power in the papacy, abettors of British enemies and always potential allies of the Native American populace.

There was a gradual evolution to religious tolerance and acceptance into full participation of citizenship for Catholics because legislation in the colonies did not reflect the ideals espoused by enlightened leaders. The Test Oath required in all colonies, from 1693 to 1775 was particularly hostile to Catholics. It is reprinted from the 1895 parish history of St. Patrick, Carlisle, written by Father Ganss:

"…do solemnly swear and sincerely profess and testify that in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper there is no transubstantiation of the elements of bread and wine into the body of Christ at or after the consecration thereof by any person whatsoever, and that the invocation or adoration of the Virgin Mary, or any other Saint, and the sacrifice of the Mass, as they are now used in the Church of Rome, are superstitious and idolatrous."

Only with the adoption of Article VI of the Constitution in 1787 were religious tests abolished. In comparison to Maryland and New York, and despite widespread prejudice and intolerance, the Pennsylvania colony founded by Quaker William Penn, "the champion of liberty", offered a greater measure of security to Catholics.

Increasingly attracted to Pennsylvania were Irish and German Catholic immigrants known as "redemptioners". These were individuals who, unable to pay their debts, agreed to bind themselves to a land owner for several years labor in return for his assumption of their debts. The dramatic increase of German settlers, in turn, required priests who could administer sacraments in their native language.

In response to these developments, Father Joseph Greaton, a Jesuit, was given charge of the entire Pennsylvania mission in 1720. From old Saint Joseph's Chapel in Philadelphia, Father Greaton was the first priest to travel the mission route to Conewago in Adams County.

From the home of Robert Owings in Conewago, Father Greaton, offered Mass secretly as early as 1721, but the founding date for the parish is 1730. By 1741, a log chapel was completed by Father William Wappeler, another German Jesuit.

"Gateway to Our Faith"

Enlarged in 1768, Conewago chapel became the headquarters of the Saint Francis Regis mission circuit extending from Pennsylvania west of the Susquehanna River, all of western Maryland and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. In this way, Conewago became the gateway to our Catholic heritage. While many early Jesuit missionary records have been lost, the sacramental registers for Conewago are the oldest sources of Catholic genealogy in the diocese.

Among the early Jesuit priests, Father James Pellentz was outstanding. For more than forty years, he served Conewago and Lancaster missions with the charity and courage required of frontier priests. He served as Vicar General to Bishop John Carroll and was one of the directors who founded Georgetown College. Father Pellentz is buried in the parish cemetery with the epitaph "…a stranger in a strange land, he erected this the temple of God, and with zeal and piety made it the object of his life to gather men within the Church."

In 1787, when Father Pellentz, the resident pastor, completed a new stone church, Conewago was the first church in North America named for the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A charming tradition connected with the building of the chapel is that all neighbors, Catholics and Protestants together, used their wagons to haul the stone from East Berlin. They walked beside their teams with hats off because the stone was to be used "for a house of God".

By 1790, when John Carroll became the Bishop of Baltimore in the new country's first diocese, Conewago was a flourishing parish with over a thousand members. Today the edifice is the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and it remains the oldest stone church in use in the United States.

Assumption BVM, Lancaster

To the east, in Lancaster County, an established Catholic community served by the Jesuit mission circuit also existed. It is believed that Father Greaton stopped in Lancaster on his way from Philadelphia through Goshenhoppen to Conewago. If this is certain, it is likely that a Mass house also existed here prior to the building of the first chapel by Father Wappeler in 1742.

Historic "old St. Mary's" in Lancaster city was founded in 1741 as the mission of Saint John Nepomucene. Its first chapel was built by Father Wappeler the following year. In 1752, another Jesuit, Father Ferdinand Farmer was assigned to Lancaster for three years. This famous priest and patriot traveled the mission circuit and established the Assumption B.V.M. chapel in Donegal. The site was the Henry Eckenroth farm and the beginning of the Elizabethtown Catholic community.

Assumption B.V.M. Church, Lancaster, is the mother church for the early missions in Elizabethtown, Lebanon, Little Britain, Doe Run, Elizabeth Furnace and Sunbury. Although its earliest sacramental records were lost in a 1760 arson fire, existing registers are a vital source of Catholic genealogy for the southeastern parts of the diocese.

During colonial times, new settlers did not have the financial means to support missionary priests. Sir John James, an English convert to Catholicism, established an endowment for the support of missionaries in Pennsylvania. This James Fund was administered by the Vicar Apostolic of London for the benefit of the German Jesuits. These funds were specifically dispersed through Saint Mary's parish, Lancaster.

The benefit of the James Fund to the development of Catholicism in the present diocese is significant. These funds encouraged more German Jesuits to the mission fields within the present diocesan territory allowing a strong Catholic faith to develop in a largely non-Catholic area. The later priests included Fathers Theodore Schneider, Matthias Manners, Robert Molyneaux and Luke Geissler. They usually traveled alone during the night, on foot or on horseback. For additional protection, Catholic priests were often attired as Quakers, physicians or teachers.

The late eighteenth century was a transition time from the German Jesuit mission priests to secular and, later, diocesan clergy. This was also a period when permanent churches were built to replace the temporary worship sites of the circuit missionaries. Most representative of these outstanding priests was Father Louis deBarth, who fled the French Revolution in 1791 and was assigned to the Lancaster mission in 1795. During a visit to Elizabethtown in 1798, Bishop John Carroll urged Father deBarth to build a permanent church for the congregation, which had been established almost fifty years earlier by Father Farmer. This was Saint Peter's Church, which was dedicated in 1799 and remained the parish worship site for 200 years.

St. Peter's, Elizabethtown

For Lancaster County, the parish registers of Saint Peter's, Elizabethtown, are another vital source of Catholic heritage and genealogy. In addition to sacramental entries, its first volume contains a covenant written in German and signed by founding parishioners. This decree pledged continuing loyalty to their pastor and their bishop. It remains an important document in the history of the Catholic Church in America. It is a clear contrast to challenges to episcopal authority caused by "trusteeism" in several Catholic churches, especially Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia.

Father deBarth's life was one of tireless devotion and service to God. By horseback from Lancaster, he continued to travel the missionary circuit into Sunbury, Chillisquaque and Northumberland. He built the first permanent churches for Saint Patrick, Carlisle; Saint Mary's, Lebanon; and Saint Patrick, York. He declined appointment as bishop in order to remain a pastor at Conewago, although he did serve as vicar general to Bishop Michael Egan and as administrator to the Diocese of Philadelphia upon the death of Bishop Egan. (Interestingly, Bishop Egan, as a young Franciscan priest from Ireland assisted Father deBarth in Lancaster, Elizabethtown, Chillisquaque and Lewisburg.)

Father Bernard Keenan was another outstanding priest who served as pastor of "Old Saint Mary's", Lancaster, from 1823 until his death in 1877 at age 98. He was the nephew of Bishop Henry Conwell of Philadelphia, who dedicated the new parish of Saint Patrick, Harrisburg, in 1827.

As in Conewago and Lancaster, the earliest Catholic history for the immediate Harrisburg area is linked to Jesuit missionary efforts. It is believed that Father Wappeler may have used the Harris Ferry in traveling the Lancaster circuit from Middletown and Elizabethtown to Carlisle.

Any records which may have documented this period from 1741 to 1749 were destroyed in the 1760 fire of the Lancaster chapel. By 1791, however, there are records showing that Father William Elling attended Harris Ferry once a month as a mission of Saint Mary's, Lancaster.

Conewago records indicate that Harrisburg was a small mission in 1806, with Mass being said in a private home among Catholics in the Alison Hill section. A chapel was built in 1813 on a site later known as Sylvan Heights. The original lot purchase was made by Father Michael Byrne, pastor of Saint Mary's, Lancaster.

The impetus for significant growth of the Catholic community in Harrisburg came later, between 1817 and 1822, with the arrival of large numbers of Irish Catholic immigrants. They were hired laborers for the building of the canal system in Pennsylvania, especially along the Susquehanna River northward.

The history of Saint Patrick, Harrisburg, that relates to the missionary work of the early priests, continues from Lewistown, where Father Patrick Leavy purchased a lot for a church building in Harrisburg in 1824. Following its establishment as a parish in 1826, a new church was built by Father Michael Curren and dedicated in 1827. The name of Saint Patrick was selected in recognition of the Irish workers who made financial sacrifices for the construction of this church.

Saint Patrick Cathedral, Harrisburg

When the diocese was founded in 1868, this parish church in Harrisburg became the pro-Cathedral. In 1907, construction on a new Cathedral of Saint Patrick was completed on the site of the old pro-Cathedral, which had been dismantled and rebuilt as the church in Burnham.

The oldest sacramental register for Saint Patrick's includes an 1828 list of Irish Catholics buried in the Irish Cemetery in Liverpool, Perry County. Additional mission stations attended by priests from Saint Patrick, Harrisburg, included Duncannon, Newport and Millerstown.

Beyond the city limits of Harrisburg, the Catholics of Steelton were served as a mission of the Cathedral. Its historical identity, however, developed in the latter half of the nineteenth century with the new wave of European immigration. The first parish established in Steelton was Saint James in 1878. As pastor, Father Gilbert Benton was known for his priestly charity and benevolence to all ethnic groups especially the newest arrivals to the community.

With the approval of Bishop Jeremiah Shanahan, Father Benton encouraged each ethnic group to form its own religious society within the parish. When numbers and finances were sufficient, new parishes were established for Croations, Slovenes, Italians, Germans and Hungarians.

This process was repeated in the Shamokin and Mount Carmel areas during the late 1800's and early 1900's, when immigration from southern and eastern Europe increased dramatically.

Continuing west and south of Harrisburg, across the Susquehanna River, are Cumberland and Franklin counties. In these frontier areas were several strongholds of Catholic faith, particularly Carlisle, Doylesburg and Chambersburg. Their earliest sacramental records are important to Catholic genealogists, especially in tracing ancestors migrating to the west during the mid- nineteenth century.

Irish and German Catholics were in the Carlisle area as early as 1737 and may have been part of the mission work of Father Wappeler from Lancaster. From the 1770's, Conewago records include Saint Patrick, Carlisle, as a mission until the parish was established in 1779. An interesting historical note for Carlisle recounts the urgent need for German priests in 1776. After the capture of Trenton on Christmas Day, during the Revolutionary War, Hessians were sent to Carlisle to build a military barrack. When offered the opportunity to return to their home country, many, including some Catholics, decided to remain in Carlisle.

Saint Patrick, Carlisle

Under the supervision of Father deBarth from Conewago, a small brick church was constructed in 1806. During this time, his assistants were Father "Prince" Demetrius Gallitzin and Father Michael Egan. In a later period, Saint Patrick, Carlisle, had a mission established for both Native American and Black children. This was founded by Blessed Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.

Clusters of Catholics also settled in historic Doylesburg, Path Valley and Amberson Valley by 1737. Doylesburg was founded by Thomas Doyle, a Catholic whose family members were prominent in the Revolutionary War. It was identified as a Conewago mission in 1790, when Mass was said in a private home in Path Valley. Although located in the wilderness, a log church built in 1802, was visited four times by Bishop Francis P. Kenrick of Philadelphia between 1832 and 1849.

Bishop John Neumann, Bishop Kenrick's successor, returned in 1852 to dedicate a new church built on land from the original Doyle family. Bishop Neumann continued his arduous travel throughout the most isolated parts of the extended Diocese of Philadelphia preaching, dedicating churches and administering sacraments. Many parishes in the diocese have sacramental registers signed by Bishop Neumann, who was declared a saint in 1977 by Pope Paul VI.

Early Chambersburg Catholics were served by Father Dennis Cahill of Hagerstown, MD, as early as 1786. In 1792, a log building was erected and named "Christ's Church". In 1795, these Catholics were attended by "Prince" Gallitzin traveling on horseback from Conewago into Huntingdon. In the parish cemetery are buried the parents of John Hughes, Archbishop of New York, who built Saint Patrick Cathedral, NY, and who also served as advisor to Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War years.

MILTON/LEWISTOWN

The diocesan history for upper Dauphin County through Juniata and Mifflin Counties is related to the Cathedral missions from Harrisburg and the parish history of Lewistown from 1830. Both were heavily influenced by the building of the Pennsylvania canal system and Irish immigrant workers previously described.

The historical center for Union, Snyder, Montour and large portions of Northumberland and Columbia counties is Saint Joseph, Milton, founded in 1805. Despite earlier Catholic activity here, only Milton had an established mission.

In 1774, Father Robert Molyneau, who served with Father Farmer in Philadelphia, purchased a lot in Northumberland presumably for a church in Sunbury. It was not built, but Father Molyneau did travel the missions from Philadelphia and was the first priest known to have ministered to Catholic settlers in this area. (By this time, Father Farmer had departed the Lancaster missions and was assigned to Philadelphia. From this mission headquarters, he traveled throughout New Jersey and New York, not central Pennsylvania.)

Father Molyneau was a priest of many accomplishments. Historically, Philadelphia, not Baltimore, was the center of Catholicism in America prior to the American Revolution. Here Father Molyneau edited hymns, devotional and prayer books which were used in traditional faith practices until revisions were adopted in 1884 by the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore. Each Sunday after Mass, children recited Molyneau's edition of the catechism, better known as the "Carroll catechism". Eventually, Father Molyneau became president of Georgetown College and first superior of the restored Jesuits following their suppression.

In 1776, land known as Ech Harbour in Northumberland was purchased for the "use and benefit of Roman Catholics who may wish to worship", but, again, no church was built. From the Lancaster mission, Father deBarth's favorite ministry was understood to be travel by horseback to the mission areas of Sunbury and the West Branch settlement of Chillisquaque.

In response to an appeal by German and Irish Catholics, Bishop John Carroll sent a Franciscan priest, Father Patrick Lonergan, O.F.M., during the late 1790's.

When, in 1805, a church was built in Milton, it was the only church in the entire northern region. Within the diocese, the parishes of Conewago, Lancaster, Elizabethtown, York, Carlisle, Chambersburg and Doylesburg are older. From the time of its establishment, Milton's parish territory was extremely large and included five chapels and fifteen stations. Saint Joseph is the mother church for Sunbury, Danville, Bloomsburg, Berwick, Lewisburg, Shamokin, Trevorton and Selinsgrove. Its historical significance compounds the loss of irreplaceable sacramental records during a catastrophic fire which destroyed the church in 1880.

Among the legendary priests who served the northern area are Monsignor John J. Koch and Father Michael Sheridan

Shamokin was a settlement through which missionaries passed in reaching Milton missions. When founded in 1836, Saint Edward's, Shamokin, served mostly German and Irish Catholics, but the later patterns of immigration resulted in the following parishes: Saint Stanislaus for Polish in 1872; Assumption BVM for Slovaks in 1891; Saint Michael for Lithuanians in 1894 and Saint Stephen for Polish in 1898. Shamokin was also the location of the first Catholic high school in the diocese.

Saint Stanislaus, Shamokin

The Mount Carmel area of the diocese comprises parts of Northumberland and Columbia Counties, including the towns of Mount Carmel, Kulpmont, Marion Heights, Locust Gap, Locust Dale and Centralia. Catholic families of various nationalities settled in Mount Carmel because of the anthracite coal industry.

The first Catholics of Mount Carmel attended Mass by walking or traveling by carriage to Ashland (outside of diocese) or Saint Joseph, Locust Gap. In 1866, Our Lady of Mount Carmel was established as a mission of Saint Edward, Shamokin, becoming the mother church for Mount Carmel parishes. As described for Saint James, Steelton, the mother church welcomed each new immigrant group until there were sufficient numbers to form a separate parish.

Saint Joseph's, Mount Carmel, parish was founded for Polish-speaking people in 1878; Saint John the Baptist for Slovaks and Holy Cross for Lithuanians in 1892; Our Mother of Consolation for Polish in 1896; Saint Peter for Italians in 1905 (with a later mission of St. Paul, Atlas) and Saint Casimir, Kulpmont, for Polish in 1914.

Holy Cross School, Mount Carmel

In 1904, Father Anthony Staniukynas was appointed pastor of Holy Cross parish. His plans for a Catholic school for the Lithuanian children resulted in Bishop John W. Shanahan petitioning Rome to found the Lithuanian order of Sisters of Saint Casimir. On October 7, 1907, the motherhouse was established in Mount Carmel, and the sisters proceeded to open the first Lithuanian Catholic school in America.

YORK

To the south, York was part of Lancaster County in 1741, when German Catholic immigrants on the Codorus Creek were visited by Father William Wappeler from Lancaster. The southern part of York County was involved in land disputes between Maryland and Pennsylvania, and this continued until the Mason-Dixon line was drawn in 1768. By 1742, Catholics had a "little wooden church" for celebration of Mass that was attended by Jesuit missionaries from Conewago, most likely Father Matthias Manners.

Although the parish of Saint Patrick, York, was founded in 1741, it was not until 1775 and 1776 that Joseph Schmidt purchased the site for a permanent church. The cornerstone of the first church was laid in 1810 by Father deBarth of Conewago.

LEBANON

Saint Mary's, Lebanon

The first settlers of the Lebanon area of the diocese were Germans who traveled west from Philadelphia along the Tulpehocken Trail. This trail was also the highway of Catholic missionaries from Philadelphia and Goshenhoppen.

It is possible that a mission existed in the early 1700's, which later became Assumption BVM Church in Lebanon, but no records exist. If it did exist, the site most likely was a log chapel at Kimmerlings, north of Lebanon where a Catholic cemetery was located. More certain, however, is Catholic activity evidenced in the sacramental records of Father Theodore Schneider, S.J., who followed the Tulpehocken trail west to Lebanon beginning in 1741.

At the turn of this century, eastern European Catholic immigrants arrived in Lebanon. To former Saints Cyril and Methodius came Slovak, Croatians and Polish Catholics and to Saint Gertrude came Germans, Hungarians and Serbs.

Throughout these areas, Catholicism grew over a period of almost three hundred years. From the vast and enduring foundation of the Jesuit missionary labors developed the history and heritage of the diocese. Pioneer priests gathered clusters of Catholic settlers into thriving parishes in Conewago, Lancaster, Elizabethtown and Carlisle, all before 1789 and the establishment of Baltimore as the first diocese in the United States. When John Carroll became the first Bishop of Baltimore, only two other dioceses existed on this continent - the Diocese of Quebec and the Diocese of Havana.

In 1808, the history of the Harrisburg diocese shifts to the Diocese of Philadelphia, one of four new dioceses created from Baltimore. With diaries and journals, it is possible to follow the arduous paths traveled by Philadelphia bishops, Francis P. Kenrick and John Neumann (later Saint) in ministering to the increasing numbers of Catholics in central Pennsylvania.

BISHOP JEREMIAH F. SHANAHAN

By March 3, 1868, when the Diocese of Harrisburg was established, Bishop Jeremiah Shanahan had a Catholic population of 25,000 souls in a ten thousand square mile area with twenty-two priests, forty churches and missions. In the United States, there were approximately one million Catholics and 1,500 priests in twenty five dioceses. The majority of the population in the country and in this new diocese were overwhelmingly Protestant.

Upon his arrival in Harrisburg, Bishop Shanahan would have seen the majesty of the State Capitol building just two hundred yards from Saint Patrick's Pro-Cathedral and his residence on State Street. A short walking distance from the steps of Saint Patrick was the shore line of the Susquehanna River. A few blocks away, where the Forum Building now stands, was the German church of Saint Lawrence, founded in 1859.

Old Saint Lawrence, Harrisburg

Within Dauphin County, beyond the city of Harrisburg, only Lykens had a parish church. Steelton residents traveled to Saint Patrick's, while Middletown residents attended Mass at Saint Peter, Elizabethtown. In 1868, Perry, Juniata and Snyder Counties had no chapels or missions. In York, Saint Patrick's had been joined by the new German parish of Saint Mary's, dedicated by Bishop John Neumann in 1852.

By 1868, Adams County, with several concentrations of Catholic communities, had established parishes beyond the mother church of Conewago in Abbottstown, Bonneauville, Littlestown, Hanover, Gettysburg and New Oxford.

As the history of the newly created diocese began, the largest population of Catholics resided in Lancaster County. The city of Lancaster had old St. Mary's and the German parish of St. Joseph, established in 1849. In addition to Quarryville and Elizabethtown, Columbia had two parishes - St. Peter and Holy Trinity. Among these parishes in Lancaster County, however, there were only two resident pastors. One was the venerable figure of Father Bernard Keenan, whose life and ministry impact greatly on both Lancaster's Catholic and local history.

In Franklin County, the early parishes in Chambersburg and Doylesburg had been joined by Buchanan Valley and Fairfield.

When established in 1868, the diocese also included Fulton, Centre and Clinton counties. In these three counties, there were only two resident pastors. One was Father Thomas McGovern in Bellefonte, who would later become the second bishop of the diocese. In Montour County, Danville had been founded, but in 1868, it was quite small compared to its mother church, Saint Joseph in Milton.

In the heart of the anthracite coal region, the area of Northumberland was just on the threshold of its large and rapid growth period. In 1866, Saint Edward, Shamokin, had received its first resident pastor, Father John J. Koch. He was an outstanding priest whose life and ministry is historically significant for the diocese because of his ministries in the northern areas of Milton, Shamokin, Trevorton, Locust Gap and missions.

In beginning his administration, Bishop Shanahan had several immediate needs to address: priests, finances and education. As related by the Vicar General, Monsignor Hassett, in 1918, Bishop Shanahan had an immediate need for "…securing a greater number of priests, … without laborers, it was evident, his extensive vineyard could not properly be cultivated."

Towards this effort, Bishop Shanahan opened Sylvan Heights Seminary in Harrisburg during October 1883. It was successfully directed by Father Massimo Cassini, until severely limited resources necessitated its closing in 1888. Numbers of diocesan clergy continued to increase, however, and Bishop Shanahan was able to establish many new parishes.

Through the late nineteenth century, the Diocese of Harrisburg could still be accurately described as "mission territory" in a country with 12 million Catholics among 55 dioceses. The Church had become an immigrant church very much involved in the labor movement and interests of the working class.

In eighteen counties of the diocese, there were nineteen parishes with thirty-four missions and stations, were mostly small and distantly located from one another. Each one carried a debt, and many had difficulty meeting the annual interest payment. By appealing to the larger parishes of his former diocese in Philadelphia, Bishop Shanahan was able to raise funds to assist his struggling churches .

The religious training of children was another important need addressed by the first bishop. In this pioneer age, priests and bishops alike recognized the need for children of immigrant families to receive religious instruction reflecting the religious tenets of their forefathers. The future of the Church was, likewise, not to be imperiled through indifference and erosion of the faith in a new culture.

Bishop Shanahan found seven parish schools in existence when he came to Harrisburg. During the next eighteen years, the number of parish schools grew to twenty-nine with 4,500 Catholic school children from a Catholic population of 35,000. It was during this time that the excellent quality of Catholic education was established with the staffing of parish schools by orders of religious sisters.

During his episcopacy, the Sisters of Saint Joseph and the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary arrived to teach in the schools. Historically, only the Sisters of Charity served in the diocese earlier. They operated a school and hospital in Harrisburg for several years beginning in 1828.

BISHOP THOMAS MCGOVERN

Following the death of Bishop Shanahan in 1886, the diocese was administered for eighteen months by Father Michael J. McBride, a diocesan priest. The second Bishop of Harrisburg, Bishop Thomas McGovern, continued the growth begun under Bishop Shanahan, especially in the Mount Carmel and Shamokin areas. To this area, he welcomed the Bernardine Sisters.

Providing for the religious needs of immigrants engaged most American bishops of the late 1800's. Polish, Lithuanians, Slovaks, Germans and Italians comprised the largest groups who were drawn to work in the northern coal mining towns. Of twelve new parishes created by Bishop McGovern, seven were national or ethnically identified.

Ministering for large non-English speaking groups required much patience and planning by Bishop McGovern. Each group was welcomed into the mother church, but as congregational numbers and financial means justified, Bishop approved each national group forming a separate parish, as his predecessor had done . The greatest difficulty often experienced by the bishop and a new parish was securing priests of various nationalities willing to permanently serve in the diocese.

Father John J. Koch of Shamokin became administrator of the diocese for nine months, following the death of Bishop McGovern. In January 1899, Bishop John W. Shanahan was appointed the third bishop of Harrisburg.

BISHOP JOHN W. SHANAHAN

Growth of new parishes under Bishop John W. Shanahan was concentrated in the outlying areas of urban centers with established churches. In Harrisburg, for example, Bishop created two new parishes from Cathedral missions in 1900. They were Saint Francis of Assisi and St. Mary's (OLBS). Because the creation of these parishes, in addition to Sacred Heart of Jesus, did not impede the viability of the Cathedral parish, it served as encouragement for Bishop to follow this pattern in Lancaster and York.

The increase in the foreign born Catholic population had continued as in the previous fifteen years, but was now more concentrated in the northern region of the diocese. National or ethnically identified parishes were opened in Shamokin, Steelton, Lebanon, Berwick and Mount Carmel.

In continuing the work of his predecessors, Bishop Shanahan determined two additional needs: institutions for the care of orphan children and the construction of the Cathedral of Saint Patrick to replace the old pro-cathedral.

The lack of sufficient care for orphaned or needy children in the diocese was of great concern to Bishop Shanahan. This was of particular importance in central Pennsylvania because the primary ways for men to provide for the family, as husbands and fathers, were usually dangerous avocations in the coal mines, steel mills and rail roads.

In 1901, Bishop transformed Sylvan Heights, which had already served as an episcopal residence and seminary, into an orphanage to accommodate one hundred girls. With the unanimous support of his clergy, expenditures were met by assessing each parish one dollar per parishioner.

Sylvan Heights Home, Harrisburg @1910

Through generous benefactors, Paradise School, Abbottstown, Adams County, also known as Paradise Protectory, was constructed and opened for boys in 1907.

Paradise School, Abbottstown

In 1907, a long awaited new Cathedral of Saint Patrick was completed and dedicated in Harrisburg. The diocese had raised $100,000 of the total construction cost of $185,000.

Bishop Shanahan gave the diocese a vigorous administration with the creation of twenty seven new parishes in eighteen years. Interestingly, this growth occurred despite the removal of Centre, Clinton and Fulton counties to the newly created Diocese of Altoona in 1901. At his death, the diocese had 120 priests, 43 seminarians and 350 religious sisters. Seventy-two churches had resident priests, and more than 10,000 children attended forty-three parochial schools.

On August 29, 1907, Bishop Shanahan established the new religious order of Sisters of Saint Casimir. He did so in response from a request of one of his priests, Father Anthony Staniukynas. The first three members were Mother Maria Kaupas, Mother M. Immaculata and Mother M. Concepta. With these sisters, Bishop Shanahan opened the first Lithuanian Catholic school in the country at Holy Cross parish, Mount Carmel on January 6, 1908. In 1911, with Bishop Shanahan's blessing, the foundation of the Sisters of Saint Casimir transferred to the Archdiocese of Chicago. From 1913 until her death in 1940, Mother Maria Kaupas was Superior General.

The motherhouses of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood and the Sisters of Saints Cyril and Methodius were established during the administration of Bishop Shanahan. The Franciscan Sisters of Saint Joseph and the Immaculate Heart Sisters of Scranton also came into service in the diocese.

BISHOP PHILIP R. MCDEVITT

Less than fifty years after its creation and following the death of Bishop Shanahan, the diocese welcomed its fourth bishop, Philip R. McDevitt. Bishop McDevitt came to Harrisburg from Philadelphia in 1916 with a background similar to his predecessor. His administration grew under the new Chancery system for diocesan administration established from the 1918 Code of Canon Law. Rev. John J. Kealy was the first full time Chancellor appointed.

Bishop McDevitt is remembered in the diocese for his advancement of Catholic secondary education. Both central high schools, one in Harrisburg (later renamed in his honor) and the other in Lancaster were built. Bishop McDevitt appointed Rev. Peter M. Stief, first Superintendent of Schools, in 1919.

Bishop McDevitt also appointed Rev. Joseph Schmidt, first Director for the Propagation of the Faith, in 1924. To respond to financial needs caused by the Depression, Bishop McDevitt created the Mission Board in 1925, successfully planned and administered for many years by Monsignor Joseph Schmidt. By 1935, the Catholic population approached 90,000 with 81 parishes served by 160 priests.

BISHOP GEORGE L. LEECH

Following his death in November 1935, Bishop McDevitt's auxiliary, Bishop George L. Leech, was appointed as the fifth Ordinary. His administration was a period of dramatic increase in the Catholic population: 183,000 souls served by 259 priests and more than 1,000 religious sisters.

The growth of diocesan administration under Bishop Leech resulted in the appointment of Monsignor Lawrence F. Schott as Auxiliary Bishop of Harrisburg in 1956. He served until his death in 1963.

To meet the increasing needs of the diocesan Church, several apostolates, and commissions were formed, such as Apostolate for Migrant Workers in 1955 and the diocesan Liturgical Commission in 1964. Bishop Leech attended all sessions of Vatican Council II.

Following the close of the Council, he moved swiftly to implement the conciliar decrees. He established a Liturgical Commission, an Ecumenical Commission, a Priests' Advisory Council and a diocesan School Board. Many diocesan lay societies were organized. Several diocesan administrative offices opened or expanded, including Catholic Charities, Tribunal, Religious, Vocations and the Catholic Witness newspaper.

Delone, York, Lourdes and Trinity High Schools opened, as well as Holy Spirit Hospital. Both Conewago and Saint Mary's, Lancaster, celebrated their 200th anniversaries. Following a quiet observance of the 75th anniversary of the diocese in 1943 during World War II, the diocese observed its 100th anniversary with a large celebration in Hershey and publication of a diocesan history book in 1968.

In 1971, Bishop Leech submitted his resignation as Ordinary of the diocese to Pope Paul VI. He was then named Titular Bishop of Allegheny, an historic See in Western Pennsylvania. In retirement, Bishop Leech resided in the Bishops' Residence with Bishop Daley and Bishop Keeler, his successors.

Following a brief illness, Bishop Leech died March 12, 1985, at the age of 94. John Cardinal Krol was celebrant and Bishop Keeler was homilist for the funeral Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral on March 16. Burial followed at Holy Cross Cemetery, Harrisburg.

BISHOP JOSEPH T. DALEY

Bishop Joseph T. Daley had been appointed Coadjutor Bishop on July 31, 1967, and became Ordinary of the Diocese of Harrisburg with the death of Bishop Leech. While continuing the programs of Bishop Leech, he also initiated significant new ones.

In 1973, Bishop Daley established the diocesan Office of Planning responsible for defining goals for the mission of the Church throughout the diocese and its parishes. Among the priorities announced were use of the diocesan newspaper for religious education and systematic home visitations for all parishes.

Formal diocesan programs began for faith renewal, adult education, respect life and youth ministry. Trinity Spiritual Center opened on the grounds of Trinity High School, Camp Hill. Following the directions of Vatican Council II, diocesan and parish councils were created to encourage priests, sisters and laity in advisory and leadership roles.

Among Bishop Daley's central concerns was encouragement of religious vocations. Through the Office of Vocations, he fostered discernment programs for men and women and oversaw the beginning of the Emmaus Program for priests.

To secure funding for the widening scope of diocesan services, Bishop Daley initiated the yearly Lenten Appeal in 1974 and founded the Diocesan Development Office.

After several years of illness with cancer, Bishop Daley died on September 2, 1983. He was succeeded by Bishop William H. Keeler, who continued Bishop Daley's goals and programs.

BISHOP WILLIAM H. KEELER

To seek further guidance, Bishop Keeler convened a diocesan Synod. During the final session in 1988, Bishop Keeler announced diocesan priorities by creating a Secretariat for Youth and a lay ministry program for lector and special ministers.

In 1989, following his appointment by Pope John Paul II, Bishop Keeler was installed as Archbishop of Baltimore. Monsignor Damian McGovern served as diocesan administrator until a new bishop was announced for Harrisburg by the Holy Father.

BISHOP NICHOLAS C. DATTILO

Bishop Dattilo, a priest from the Diocese of Pittsburgh, became the eighth Bishop of Harrisburg. He was consecrated by Cardinal Bevilacqua of Philadelphia on January 27, 1990. Archbishop William H. Keeler of Baltimore and Bishop Donald W. Wuerl of Pittsburgh served as Bishop Dattilo's co-consecrators in a Mass held at Saint Patrick Cathedral, Harrisburg. During this ceremony, Bishop Dattilo was installed as bishop.

Most Rev. Nicholas C. Dattilo
Eighth Bishop of Harrisburg
1990 -

Soon after Bishop Dattilo's installation, a three-year Consultations Process was begun to assess the needs and resources of the entire diocesan Church in preparation for the next century. This resulted in a major reorganization of parishes and missions, because of populations shifts within the fifteen counties of the diocese.

In a further effort to prepare the diocesan Church for the future, Bishop Dattilo initiated the Ecclesial Lay Ministry Program. Established in 1998, this three-year formation program prepares trained lay leaders, who are knowledgeable and faithful to the teaching, governance and sacramental life of the Church.

Also in 1998, Bishop Dattilo directed that the needs of Catholic Schools be studied. This is one part of an ongoing effort to maintain the Catholic identity of schools and ensure that they remain a vital force for Catholic education of diocesan youth.

In 1999, Bishop Dattilo approved construction of a new Priests Retirement Residence to care for priests, who have faithfully given their lives in service to the parishes and institutions of the diocese. Villa Vianney in Lebanon, the former retirement residence for priests, was closed earlier in the year.

Plans were also finalized for construction of a Diocesan Conference Center on the grounds of the Diocesan Office complex, adjacent to the Priests Retirement Residence. A groundbreaking ceremony was held October 1, 1999.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This diocesan history was written using parish histories, published articles and archival papers of the following priests:

Rev. Msgr. John P. Bolen      Rev. George J. Koychick
Rev. Msgr. George J. Breckel      Rev. Msgr. George D. Mulcahy
Rec. Jules C. Foin            Rev. William Nessel, OSFS
Rev. Henry G. Ganss            Rev. Msgr. George W. Rost

The text identifies common historical experiences and conditions which, today, unite our faithful in parish communities. This basic framework permits a parish to place its own history in context with mother church, neighboring parishes, administrations of bishops and common historical and cultural events.

In this way, the diocesan history is intended to promote our sense of being part of the Universal Church, beyond parish and diocese. Hopefully, this format will encourage further reading and discussion of Catholic history, especially among school children and genealogists.

Special acknowledgement and appreciation is extended to Rev. Msgr. Hugh A. Overbaugh, Rev. Joseph D. Blascovich and Rev. Lawrence J. McNeil for their advice and support.

Mrs. Kathleen R. Signor
Diocesan Archivist
September 1999

Copyright @1999