John Joseph Hughes

1797-1864. Roman Catholic archbishop of New York. Born in Annalogham, Ireland, he went to the USA in 1817, was educated in Mount St. Mary Catholic College in Maryland, and was ordained in 1826. He served two parishes in Philadelphia until 1837, when he became coadjutor bishop of New York. He founded St. John's College (now Fordham University) in 1841. He became bishop of New York in 1842 and archbishop in 1850. He organized the parochial school system of New York and freed it from public and lay control. He began the building of St. Patrick's Cathedral in 1858 and led in the establishment of the North American College in Rome. Early in the Civil War he was successful as an envoy of the United States government in winning sympathy for the Union cause in France, Ireland, and Italy.