John Henni

John Martin Henni (June 15, 1805 – September 7, 1881) was a Swiss-born Catholic prelate who served as the first Archbishop of Milwaukee from 1843 until his death in 1881.

Biography

Early life and education John Henni was born on June 15, 1805, in the village of Misanenga, municipality of Obersaxen, in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. He received his early education in St. Gallen and Lucerne, Switzerland. After Henni decided to become a priest, his bishop sent him to study philosophy and theology in Rome in 1824.

Priesthood Henni was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Cincinnati by Fenwick on February 2, 1829. After his ordination, the diocese assigned Henni to the pastoral staff of St. Peter Parish in Cincinnati, a parish for German immigrants. He was also named to the faculty of the Athenaeum, the Jesuit college in Cincinnati, to teach philosophy to seminarians.

Henni in 1847 laid the cornerstone for the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Cincinnati. He also brought the Sisters of Charity religious order from Maryland into the diocese. They opened St. Mary's Hospital in Milwaukee in 1848. That same year, Henni made another trip to Europe. Once he was back in Milwaukee, he temporarily suspended construction of the cathedral. Henni also opened an orphanage during this period.

As Henni's health started to fail in 1880, Pope Leo XIII appointed Bishop Michael Heiss of La Crosse as coadjutor archbishop to take over most of Henni's tasks.

Death and legacy Two days after the opening of Marquette University, Henni died on September 7, 1881, in Milwaukee. In 1956, Saint Francis de Sales Seminary renamed their main building as Henni Hall.