Edmond Francis Prendergast
Edmond Francis Prendergast was an Irish-born prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1911 until his death in 1918.Biography
Edmond Prendergast was born in Clonmel, County Tipperary, to Lawrence and Joanna Prendergast. Three of his uncles and two brothers were also priests, and two sisters entered religious life. While a theological student in his native country, he accepted an invitation from one of his uncles to come to the United States in 1859. He then enrolled at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he proved to be a talented student. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop James Frederick Wood on November 17, 1865.
Prendergast then served as a curate at St. Paul's Church in Philadelphia until May 1866, when he was transferred to the mission in Susquehanna Depot on account of his health. He was pastor of St. Mark's Church in Bristol from 1867 to 1871. He then served at Immaculate Conception Church in Allentown until February 1874, when he returned to Philadelphia as pastor of St. Malachy's Church. In addition to his duties at St. Malachy's, he was named vicar general of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1895.
On November 27, 1895, Prendergast was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia and Titular Bishop of Scilium by Pope Leo XIII. He received his episcopal consecration on February 24, 1897 from Archbishop Patrick John Ryan, with Bishops Ignatius Frederick Horstmann and Michael John Hoban serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul. For 15 years he continued his work as vicar general and pastor of St. Malachy's, and assisted Archbishop Ryan in ordaining priests, administering Confirmation, dedicating churches, chapels and schools, officiating at the reception of novices and at the solemn profession of numerous nuns in the archdiocese. He also served as chairman of the Archdiocesan Building Committee; under his leadership, the Catholic Protectory for Boys, Archbishop Ryan Memorial Library, Catholic Home for Girls, and Catholic Girls' High School were erected. Following the death of Archbishop Ryan in February 1911, he was elected Apostolic Administrator.
Prendergast was named the third Archbishop of Philadelphia by Pope Pius X on May 27, 1911. He was later installed at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul on July 26, 1911. In attendance at his installation was the likes of Mayor John E. Reyburn and Judge Mayer Sulzberger. Due to his own advanced age, he received John Joseph McCort as an auxiliary in 1912. During his episcopate, he was known as a master builder and a real-estate genius. He increased the number of parishes and parochial schools. He founded Saint Francis Country Home for Convalescents and Saint Edmond's Home for Crippled Children. Until his death, Archbishop Prendergast was esteemed by priests and laity as a friend and solicitous father.
Archbishop Prendergast High School for Young Women in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, is named for him.
