John Joseph Swint

John Joseph Swint (December 15, 1879 – November 23, 1962) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling in West Virginia from December 1922 until his death in 1962. He was auxiliary bishop of the same diocese from May to December 1922.

Biography

Early life One of nine children, John Swint was born on December 15, 1879, in Pickens, West Virginia, to Peter and Caroline (née Winkler) Swint, who were immigrants from Central Europe. He studied at St. Charles College in Ellicott City, Maryland, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in 1899. After studying at the Apostolic Mission House in Washington, D.C. for a year, he returned to West Virginia and served as pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Hinton from 1905 to 1908. He held the seventh (1923) and eighth (1933) diocesan synods. He also invited the Franciscans of the Immaculate Conception, the Sisters of St. Joseph, and the Pallottine Missionary Sisters into the diocese. Two women withdrew from competition, but one contestant, Mariruth Ford, ignored his ban and participated, winning the title of Miss West Virginia.

In July 1952, Swint condemned the planned opening of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Parkersburg, West Virginia, that would provide contraception services to women. He said it was part of a national plan by doctors to break the Catholic Church's ban on birth control. Swint was given the personal title of archbishop by the Vatican on March 12, 1954.

Death John Swint died in Wheeling on November 23, 1962, at age 82.

Publications

The Moral Law (1933) The Parables of the Kingdom (1934) The Bread from Heaven (1935) Christ the Organizer of the Church (1936) Back to Christ (1940) Forgotten Truths (1940) The Sweetest Story Ever Told (1947)