Early life Jeremiah Harty was born in
St. Louis, Missouri, to Andrew and Julia (née Murphy) Harty, who were
Irish immigrants. He was educated by the
Christian Brothers in grade school and by the
Jesuits in high school. He attended
St. Louis University, from where he graduated in 1872. He studied
theology at St. Vincent's College in
Cape Girardeau. His first assignment was as assistant
pastor of St. Lawrence O'Toole Parish in St. Louis. He then served a pastoral role at St. Bridget Parish, where he remained until he became the founding pastor of St. Leo Parish in 1888.
Archbishop of Manila On June 6, 1903, Harty was appointed
Archbishop of Manila by
Pope Leo XIII. He was the first American to be named to that position. He received his
episcopal consecration on August 15, 1903, in Rome from Cardinal
Francesco Satolli, with Archbishops Diomede Panici and Amilcare Tonietti serving as
co-consecrators, in Rome. During his term, Harty was increasingly troubled by the propagation of the
Protestant faith in the
Philippines, which was being introduced by the
Thomasites, and was gaining a foothold among Filipinos because of the strong anti-friar sentiments that existed at that time. Due to the lack of
Catholic educational institutions in the country, Harty, an alumnus of a Christian Brother school in
St. Louis, Missouri, appealed to the
Superior-General of the
Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in 1905 for the establishment of a De La Salle school in the
Philippines. However, Harty's request was denied due to lack of funds. Nonetheless, Harty continued to appeal for the establishment of additional Catholic schools in the country to
Pope Pius X including, among others, St. Theresa's College Manila. On March 10, 1911, the La Salle Generalate sent Brothers Blimond Pierre, Aloysius Gonzaga, and Augusto Correge to the Philippines, where they established
De La Salle College in Paco, the first Christian Brother school in the country.
Bishop of Omaha On May 16, 1916, Harty was appointed bishop of what was then the Diocese of Omaha with the personal title of archbishop. He filled the vacancy of Bishop Richard Scannell, who died on January 8, 1916. In 1917, Harty expressed skepticism of Father
Edward J. Flanagan and his establishment of
Boys Town, a home for troubled boys in Boys Town, Nebraska. However, Harty would later endorse the goals of Boys Town. The actor
Minor Watson portrayed the Bishop of Omaha in the 1938 film
Boys Town. On October 29, 1927, Jeremiah Harty died at age 73. ==References==