ARCHBISHOP OF SAINT PAUL

Social Gospel.

John Ireland, the first archbishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota, was very much a man of his times, and in regard to the Catholic Church, perhaps a man of the future. Along with James Cardinal Gibbons, John L. Spalding, John Keane, and Denis O'Connell, Ireland was instrumental in bringing the Catholic Church to prominence as a political as well as a social force in the United States. Ireland was frank, energetic, progressive, and controversial not only within the church in America but within the church worldwide. The Vatican paid attention to John Ireland, who insisted that his faith not only adapt itself to this new land but also to the times. He was interested in what the church was, its ancient rites and stature, but also interested in what it could do. "Church and age!" he proclaimed. The age was one of social concerns, and Ireland confronted them despite the controversy involved in...