ERIE - Key Persons

"To Serve Christ" was Bishop Edward McManaman's motto, and that he did, even in the midst of great suffering at the end of his life. Bishop McManaman was appointed as the second auxiliary bishop of Erie in 1948, assisting Bishop Gannon with the administrative tasks of running an increasingly large diocese. He had served previously as the superintendent of schools and rector of the cathedral. Passionate about education, Bishop McManaman was very intelligent, Father Pino said, and knew a little bit about everything. (He can largely be credited with handling the details of Archbishop Gannon's vision for building the regional high schools and St. Mark Seminary.) He was a reader and studier and held other priests to those high standards, too. He was also beloved by parishioners at St. Joseph in Oil City, where he served as pastor, and is still held in high regard and sanctified there to this day. At the time of Bishop McManaman's appointment as auxiliary bishop, the 13-county-large diocese held confirmations for 200 people at a time at Masses that were two hours long. Bishop McManaman's and Bishop Gannon's different strengths-McManaman as the organized administrator, Gannon as the gifted spokesman-complemented each other as leaders of the diocese. The two men had similar personalities, having a wonderful human touch with people. As Bishop McManaman walked outside every night saying his breviary, people would follow him, and he is known not to have let his cassock stop him from joining in a game of baseball with children in the neighborhood. Bishop McManaman was constantly on the go, often driving between Oil City and Erie to fulfill his various duties. "If he had had a cell phone, he would have used it," Father Pino says. Signs of bone cancer slowed Bishop McManaman starting around 1960, although he never let on concerning the intensity of his pain. Most people had no idea he was sick, and shockwaves resonated throughout the diocese when he died of a cerebral hemorrhage on July 18, 1964. His flock celebrated his life with two funeral Masses-one at the cathedral and one at St. Joseph Parish in Oil City, where he had served as pastor.

Bishop John E. Fitzmaurice

Job Titles:

Bishop

Bishop John Fitzmaurice, an Irish immigrant, accepted the appointment as bishop of Erie in 1899. If Bishop Mullen laid the foundation for the diocese to grow, Bishop Fitzmaurice built it up. Bishop Fitzmaurice lavished it with a marble altar and a pipe organ, to make the inside as beautiful as the outside. He gilded the space with his spiritual gifts, too: Bishop Fitzmaurice was known for his skills as an orator and homilist. Bishop Fitzmaurice had bad eyesight all his life, and eventually went blind. Toward the end of his life, when his eyesight was failing, a little boy who was a member of the cathedral parish would lead Bishop Fitzmaurice through the cathedral for processions. Bishop Fitzmaurice died on June 18, 1920.

Bishop John F. Whealon

Job Titles:

Bishop

Bishop John Mark Gannon

Job Titles:

Bishop

If Bishops Mullen and Fitzmaurice had the task of sowing seeds in the Diocese of Erie, Bishop John Mark Gannon heeded the call to harvest them. Much was in bloom in Erie during Bishop Gannon's tenure-an unprecedented 46 years of service. He cared deeply for his home diocese, and consistently worked hard to establish institutions and programs that are still ministering to the Erie community today. Erie's first "native son" bishop, Bishop Gannon was one of the youngest bishops in the United States at the time of his appointment in 1920. Bishop Gannon's father, Thomas, was a drummer boy in the Civil War, and his mother, Julia, lived with her son until the end of her life. The precise history is unclear, but legend has it, Father Pino says, that Bishop Gannon was offered the appointment to serve as archbishop of Philadelphia, but refused it. He was rumored to have been offered the same position in New York, but refused that, too. "He loved Erie," Father Pino says. "He had a good thing going here." Bishop Gannon reverently delighted in the pomp and circumstance of liturgical celebrations and certainly enjoyed the extras that came along with being named an archbishop: the extra two tassels on his coat of arms, a longer cape and the title "your grace" instead of "your excellency." Even amid all the formality, Bishop Gannon was quick to interact with people in a personal and meaningful way. An old newspaper photo captured a moment with the bishop playing "stick 'em up" with a barefoot boy sporting two toy six-shooters and a cowboy hat. The bishop, meanwhile, was in full liturgical garb for ordination. The Great Depression settled over the nation in the 1930s, and Erie was not immune. When hobos would throw pebbles at the rectory window, Bishop Gannon would lend them a hand, tossing them money. Bishop Gannon had a passion for education. He established Cathedral College-later to become Gannon University-as well as the regional Catholic high schools and St. Mark Seminary. In response to the persecution of Catholics in Mexico, Bishop Gannon helped establish Montezuma Seminary in New Mexico to train young Mexican men who were unable to study in their home country. He sent art professors from the high schools and colleges to study in Europe so they could return and help beautify their campuses. He worked hard to support the Sisters of St. Joseph, the Sisters of Mercy and the Benedictines in their ministries and welcomed the Carmelite sisters to the diocese. In total, Bishop Gannon helped institute 28 parishes, 49 churches, seven rectories and 12 convents and played a critical role in the opening of many hospitals and ministries including Harborcreek Training School for Boys, Gannondale for Girls and the Erie Day Nursery. Bishop Gannon was given the unique and rarely bestowed honor of "archbishop ad personam," Father Pino explains. Even though Erie was not an archdiocese-the typical requirement for a bishop to receive the archbishop title-the "ad personam" distinction is a personal title given for great service to the Catholic Church. Toward the end of his life, when he was in his 80s, Vatican II began and Archbishop Gannon attended a session with a young priest from Buffalo named Father Donald Trautman. While celebrating one of the first Masses said in English at St. Mark Seminary, Father Pino said, one of the priests looked over at Archbishop Gannon and noticed he was crying. Naturally, he asked the shepherd what was wrong. "I've never heard my name spoken in English in the canon before," Archbishop Gannon replied, tears in his eyes. Even though he was in his twilight years as a bishop during the sessions, Archbishop Gannon embraced the changes that came with Vatican II and was on fire with what it would mean for the future of the church. "The man who loved pomp and circumstance was very open to its renewal," Father Pino said. Archbishop Gannon retired at 90 and died two years later on Sept. 5, 1968.

Bishop Joshua M. Young

Job Titles:

Bishop

Bishop Michael J. Murphy

Job Titles:

Bishop

Bishop Michael J. O'Connor

Job Titles:

Bishop

Bishop Tobias Mullen

Job Titles:

Bishop

Bishop Tobias Mullen, born in Ireland, was appointed bishop of Erie in 1868. Prior to his appointment, Bishop Mullen was a priest and vicar general of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and also served a great deal of time at parishes in what is now the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. He left a big mark on the Diocese of Erie: His crowning achievement as Erie's shepherd was the construction of the St. Peter Cathedral on Ninth and Sassafras streets. People thought he was crazy-at the time, the location was at the edge of the wilderness. But Bishop Mullen had vision, and saw the potential for growth of the area. Construction on the cathedral began in 1873 with $9,000; an additional $250,000 was raised by generous Catholics from all across the diocese over the next 20 years. At a time when anti-Catholic sentiment was running high, the building of the cathedral bolstered the unity of Catholics in Erie. Socioeconomically, the landscape of the diocese changed greatly during Bishop Mullen's tenure. By 1880, the influx of immigrants into the U.S. was in full force. The cathedral was completed in 1893, just in time to serve the growing population of Erie. But while the cathedral was rising, Bishop Mullen's health was declining. In 1898, he suffered a paralytic stroke while saying Mass at the cathedral. For the first time in the history of the diocese, the pope appointed a coadjutor bishop-Bishop John Fitzmaurice, who would later become Erie's fourth bishop. Bishop Mullen resigned from his post in 1899 and died just after the dawn of the 20th century on April 22, 1900. As Bishop Mullen lay dying, Bishop Fitzmaurice said Mass for him at his bedside. He summoned a young neighborhood boy to serve as altar boy and the young boy was so nervous he accidentally washed the bishop's hands with wine instead of water. He also knocked the bishop's biretta off his desk and crushed it underfoot.