Henry Conwell
Henry Conwell (c. 1748 – April 22, 1842) was an Irish-born Catholic bishop in the United States. He became a priest in 1776 and served in that capacity in Ireland for more than four decades. After the Pope declined to appoint him Archbishop of Armagh, the diocese in which he served as Vicar General, he was instead installed as the second Bishop of Philadelphia in 1819.
The Right Reverend Henry Conwell | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Philadelphia | |
| Province | Baltimore |
| Appointed | November 26, 1819 |
| Installed | December 2, 1820 |
| Term ended | April 22, 1842 |
| Predecessor | Michael Francis Egan |
| Successor | Francis Patrick Kenrick |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | November 1776 |
| Consecration | September 24, 1820 by William Poynter |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1748 Moneymore, County Londonderry, Kingdom of Ireland |
| Died | April 22, 1842 (aged 93–94) Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania, British America |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Signature | |
Conwell took up the post at an advanced age and spent much of his time there feuding with the lay trustees of his parishes, especially those of St. Mary's Church in Philadelphia. When Conwell removed and excommunicated William Hogan, a controversial priest at St. Mary's, the parish trustees instead rejected Conwell's authority, creating a minor schism. The two sides partially reconciled by 1826, but the Vatican hierarchy believed Conwell had ceded too much power to the laymen in the process and recalled him to Rome.
Although he retained his position, Conwell was compelled to relinquish actual control to his coadjutor bishop, Francis Kenrick. He remained in Philadelphia and performed some priestly duties, but for all practical purposes no longer ran the diocese. He died there in 1842 at the age of about 94.