Francis J. Haas

Francis Joseph Haas (March 18, 1889 – August 29, 1953) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids in Michigan from 1943 until his death in 1953.

An advocate for organized labor, Haas served as a U.S. Government labor mediator for major labor strikes before being appointed bishop.

Biography

Early life Francis Haas was born on March 18, 1889, in Racine, Wisconsin, to Peter Francis Haas and Mary Lucy O'Day. In 1904, he entered St. Francis Seminary in St. Francis, Wisconsin.

Priesthood Haas was ordained on June 11, 1913, for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Bishop Joseph Maria Koudelka in Racine. After his ordination, Haas was assigned as an assistant pastor at Holy Rosary Parish in Milwaukee. He also became a faculty member two years later at St. Francis Seminary. Haas also attended Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. After returning to Milwaukee in 1922, he started teaching economics at both St. Francis Seminary and Marquette University. Haas also served as a member of the civil service examining board for Milwaukee County. He was also named by US President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933 to the new National Labor Board in Washington. With the onset of World War II, Haas reportedly participated in the mediation of 1,500 labor disputes.

Leaving Washington in 1935, Haas was appointed rector of St. Francis Seminary in Wisconsin. He received a Doctor of Law degree in 1936 from the University of Wisconsin. Haas also served as president of the Catholic Association for International Peace.

Bishop of Grand Rapids In 1943, Hass resigned as chair of the President's Committee on Fair Employment Practice to become the bishop of Grand Rapids. Pope Pius XII appointed him bishop on September 26, 1943, and he was consecrated at the Cathedral of Saint Andrew in Grand Rapids, Michigan, by Archbishop Amleto Cicognani on November 18, 1943. The Bishop Haas Council 4362 of the Knights of Columbus in Wyoming, Michigan was named in his honor.

Awards

Award for fighting intolerance from the Jewish Workmen's Circle of Detroit - 1950 Human rights award from the Michigan Congress of Industrial Organizations Council - 1952