Early life John Morris was born on June 29, 1866, in
Hendersonville, Tennessee, to John and Anne (née Morrissey) Morris, both Irish
immigrants. After graduating from
St. Mary's College in Lebanon, Kentucky, he began his studies for the priesthood in 1887 at the
Pontifical North American College in Rome. Following his return to Tennessee, Morris was named
rector of
St. Mary's Cathedral in Nashville and private secretary to Bishop
Thomas Byrne. He was raised to the rank of a
domestic prelate in 1905. That same year, he started the diocesan newspaper,
The Southern Guardian. Despite the financial hardships of the
Great Depression during the 1930s, Morris raised $20,000 to purchase an
organ for the St. Andrew's Cathedral. He publicly condemned
anti-Semitism following the
Kristallnacht attacks in Germany in 1938.
Death and legacy Morris died at the
rectory of St. Andrew's Cathedral in Little Rock on October 22, 1946, at age 80. He is buried in the
crypt under the cathedral. During his tenure, Morris increased the number of priests from 60 to 154, and the number of
schools from 29 to 80; by 1940, the diocese contained over 33,000 Catholics and 125 churches. ==References==