John Joseph Hennessy

John Joseph Hennessy (July 19, 1847 – July 13, 1920) was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Wichita in Kansas from 1888 until his death in 1920.

Biography

Early life John Hennessy was born on July 19, 1847, near Cloyne, County Cork, in Ireland to Michael and Ellen (née Cronin) Hennessy. In 1850, the Hennessy family immigrated to the United States, settling in St. Louis, Missouri. He received his early education at the local cathedral school and the Christian Brothers College in Town and Country, Missouri, graduating there in 1862. At age 22, he was below the age required for ordination, but was granted a dispensation by Pope Pius IX. Hennessy was consecrated at St. John's Church in St. Louis on November 30, 1888, by Archbishop Peter Kenrick, with Archbishop John Hennessy and Bishop Louis Fink serving as co-consecrators. In 1898 he convened the first diocesan synod. He broke ground for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita in April 1906 and laid the cornerstone the following October; it was dedicated by Cardinal James Gibbons in September 1912.