John Joseph McCort (February 16, 1860 – April 21, 1936) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Altoona from 1920 until his death in 1936.
McCort was ordained a priest on October 14, 1883, by Bishop Jeremiah F. Shanahan.[3] A few months shy of the canonical age of 24, he was granted a special dispensation to be ordained due to health issues.[4] Following his ordination, he was immediately appointed to the faculty of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, where he taught Latin, rhetoric, mathematics, Church history, and liturgy for the next 16 years.[5] In June 1899, he was appointed to succeed John W. Shanahan as pastor of Our Mother of Sorrows Church in the Mill Creek neighborhood of West Philadelphia.[2]
On June 22, 1916, McCort was notified of his appointment as Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles by Pope Benedict XV.[4][6] However, Archbishop Prendergast wrote to Rome with McCort's consent to rescind the appointment, so that McCort could continue to assist the ailing archbishop in Philadelphia.[7] Pope Benedict accepted Prendergast's request in November that year.[8]
Following Prendergast's death a little over a year later in February 1918, there was considerable public support for McCort's appointment as archbishop.[9] However, the appointment ultimately went to Dennis Joseph Dougherty, the Bishop of Buffalo and McCort's former colleague at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. McCort had a strained relationship with Dougherty, especially after McCort resigned from several diocesan positions following Dougherty's appointment.[10]
Bishop of Altoona
On January 27, 1920, McCort was appointed coadjutor bishop with the right of succession to Bishop Eugene A. Garvey of the Diocese of Altoona.[3] Upon Garvey's death on October 22 that year, McCort succeeded him as the second Bishop of Altoona.[3]
Upon McCort's arrival in 1920, the Diocese of Altoona contained 148 priests, 110 churches, 91 parishes, 42 parochial schools, and a Catholic population of 123,756.[11] By the time of his death in 1936, there were 197 priests, 129 churches, 111 parishes, 50 parochial schools, and a Catholic population that had fallen to 100,634 during the Great Depression.[12] McCort laid the cornerstone for the new Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in May 1926 but construction temporarily came to a halt in 1929 due to the stock market crash, with the cathedral's dedication taking place in September 1931.[13] In 1922, McCort established Altoona Catholic High School (now Bishop Guilfoyle High School) and Johnstown Catholic High School (renamed Bishop McCort High School in 1962).[5] On the occasion of his golden jubilee as a priest in October 1933, McCort was named an assistant to the papal throne by Pope Pius XI.[14]
In February 1936, McCort was admitted to Mercy Hospital at Johnstown after receiving injuries from a fall during a visit in Philadelphia.[15] His health began to fail and he was in a coma for several days before his death on April 21, 1936.[5] He is buried in the crypt of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.[16]
References
^ abcThe National Cyclopedia of American Biography. Vol. XVI. New York: James T. White & Company. 1937. p. 119.
^ abcdA History of Blair County, Pennsylvania. Vol. II. Harrisburg, PA: National Historical Association. 1931.
^Ellis, John Tracy (1952). The Life of James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore (1834-1921). Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Company.
^Nolan, Hugh J. (1976). "Chapter 6: The Native Son". In Connelly, James F. (ed.). The History of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. pp. 347–348.
^Official Catholic Directory. New York: P.J. Kenedy & Sons. 1920. p. 219.
^Official Catholic Directory. New York: P.J. Kenedy & Sons. 1936. p. 198.