Remembering
THE RT. REV. CHARLES EDWARD McDONNELL
In September, 1926 the Diocese of Brooklyn saw the need for a Catholic high school for young women — and as we all know, that became Bishop McDonnell Memorial High School. Kathleen Carney DeVito ’62
C
harles Edward McDonnell was born on February 1, 1854 in the borough of Manhattan to Charles, a printer, and Eleanor McDonnell. He attended De La Salle Academy and St. Francis Xavier College, and later studied theology at the American College in Rome, Italy. In May of 1878 Charles was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of New York in Rome. That Fall, he returned to New York City, where he served as a curate at St. Mary’s Church on Grand Street. Fr. McDonnell spent several years in the Archdiocese of New York.
When The Rt. Rev. John Loughlin, first Bishop of Brooklyn died in 1891, Pope Leo XIII appointed McDonnell the second Bishop of Brooklyn. At age 37, he was youngest Roman Catholic bishop in America. He was consecrated at St. Patrick’s in April 1892. At the time, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle described him as “learned, judicious, amiable, firm, and persuasive.” His first official act in this capacity was the dedication of the new St. Augustine’s Church. During Bishop McDonnell’s 29-year tenure in Brooklyn, the number of Catholics in the diocese increased from 250,000 to 900,000. This time came to be called the Great Migration (1846-1940) when 55 million immigrants came to the U.S. from Europe, and
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