CONWELL, HENRY. - Second bishop of Philadelphia, b. at Moneymore, Londonderry, in 1745, d. there on 22 April 1842. A priest in 1776, parish priest of Dungannon and vicar general of Armagh; on 26 Nov. 1819 he was appointed bishop of Philadelphia. Despite his advanced age he enthusiastically took up the task entrusted to him, but he was unable to put an end to the discord that agitated the diocese.
The church of St. Mary, then the cathedral, had been arbitrarily assigned by the founding members to the Rev. William Hogan, who did not enjoy a good reputation among the faithful. On 12 Dec. C., on the basis of American legislative provisions, which did not contemplate certain interference in the appointments of the clergy, dismissed him and recalled as vicar general William V. Harold, a Dominican, whom Hogan had removed; this worsened the situation to the point that in May 1821 the founders closed the church to the bishop and the clergy, forcing them to move to that of St. Joseph.
Later the dissidents planned an agreement to be submitted to the judgment of the authorities in Rome, who rejected it, because it was contrary to the decorum and prestige of the Church. While C. was in Rome, to give justification for his conduct, in Baltimore, where the first provincial Council had gathered, the question was re-examined and it was proposed that a coadjutor and administrator be appointed in the person of Francis Patrick Kenrich. Rome, in agreement with C., gave its approval; C. returned to Philadelphia in 1830, and spent his last years there in solitude and prayer.
Bibliography2 works
Gabriella de Stefano