Edmond Francis Prendergast

Edmond Francis Prendergast (May 3, 1843 – February 26, 1918) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1911 until his death in 1918.

Early life and education A native of Ireland, Edmond Francis Prendergast was born on May 3, 1843, in Clonmel, County Tipperary. He was the son of Laurence and Johanna (née Carew) Prendergast. At the suggestion of one of his uncles, Father Francis Carew, who served as pastor of St. Rose of Lima Church in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, Prendergast came to the United States in 1859 to study for the priesthood.

Prendergast first studied at the preparatory seminary at Glen Riddle in Delaware County, near Philadelphia. He then entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, then located at 18th and Race Streets in Philadelphia, where he completed his philosophical and theological studies. He then served as an assistant pastor at St. Paul Church in South Philadelphia for six months.

Prendergast served as pastor of St. Mark Church in Bristol (1868–1870) and Immaculate Conception Church in Allentown (1870–1874) before returning to Philadelphia as pastor of St. Malachy Church. By the end of his tenure, the archdiocese had 779 priests, 284 churches, 180 parochial schools, and 710,000 Catholics. He also opened Catholic Girls High School in 1911 and West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys in 1916, as well as Misericordia Hospital in Philadelphia and Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown.

In 2005, Archbishop Prendergast High School for Young Women in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, merged with Monsignor Bonner High School for Young Men to create Bonner & Prendergast Catholic High School.