Jump to content

Henry Damian Juncker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Most Reverend

Henry Damian Juncker
Bishop of Alton
SeeDiocese of Alton
InstalledApril 26, 1857
Term endedOctober 2, 1868
Predecessornone
SuccessorPeter Joseph Baltes
Orders
OrdinationMarch 16, 1834
by John Baptist Purcell
ConsecrationApril 26, 1857
by John Baptist Purcell
Personal details
Born(1809-08-22)August 22, 1809
DiedOctober 2, 1868(1868-10-02) (aged 59)
Alton, Illinois, USA

Henry Damian Juncker (August 22, 1809 – October 2, 1868) was a French-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the first bishop of the Diocese of Alton in Illinois, serving from 1857 until his death in 1868.

Biography

[edit]

Early life

[edit]

Henry Juncker was born in Fénétrange, Moselle in France on August 22, 1809. While studying at the Pont-à-Mousson seminary in France, he decided to devote his life to the American missions, attaching himself to the Diocese of Cincinnati in Ohio.[1][2] Juncker emigrated to the United States, completing his seminary studies in Cincinnati.[3] Contemporary accounts described him as a zealous catechism teacher to his students.[4]

Priesthood

[edit]

Juncker was ordained a priest by Bishop John Baptist Purcell on March 16, 1834.[5] After his ordination, Juncker was sent to Columbus, Ohio to oversee construction of St. Remigius Church.[6]

Juncker then served as pastor of Holy Trinity, a German-language parish in Cincinnati. In 1836, he was appointed pastor of St. Mary's Parish in Canton, Ohio.[7] In 1846, he was named pastor of Emanuel Parish in Dayton, Ohio.[7][2] While pastor at Emanuel, he visited many neighboring communities and German settlements to minister to Catholics there.[7]

Bishop of Alton

[edit]

On January 9, 1857, Juncker was appointed the first bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Alton—now the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois—by Pope Pius IX.[5] He received his consecration on April 26, 1857, from Purcell, with Archbishop John Henni and Bishop Joshua Young serving as co-consecrators.[5] At the time of Juncker's arrival, the diocese contained 58 churches, 30 mission stations, 18 priests, and 50,000 Catholics.[3] Realizing immediately that the new diocese needed more priests, he traveled to Europe in 1857 to recruit priests from France, Germany, Ireland and Italy for his diocese.[8][2]

Juncker completed the first cathedral in the diocese in 1859, and founded two men's colleges, six girls' academies, a seminary, two hospitals, and one orphanage.[1] By the time of his death, there were 125 churches, over 100 priests, and 80,000 Catholics.[2] During one stay in Randolph County, a delegation from Red Bud, Illinois, asked Juncker to visit them. The townspeople said they had never seen a priest there. During his visit to Red Bud, Juncker heard confession from 1,000 Catholics and received a donation of land from a Protestant businessman for a new church.[2]

When the American Civil War started in 1861, Juncker asked his parishioners to pray for peace. When the Union Army opened a medical camp for wounded soldiers in Cairo, Illinois, he sent priests and nuns there to provide support.[4] Juncker attended the Second Plenary Council of American bishops in Baltimore, Maryland in 1866 and then went to Rome in 1867 to attend the Centenary of the Holy Apostles.[4]

Death

[edit]

In June 1868, Juncker became incapacitated by Illness. Henry Juncker died in Alton, Illinois, on October 2, 1868, at age 59. He was buried in a vault under his cathedral.[7][2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Alton". Catholic Encyclopedia.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. 1917.
  3. ^ a b "History of the Diocese of Springfield: Bishop Henry Damian Juncker (1857-1868)". Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.
  4. ^ a b c Clarke, Richard Henry (1888). Lives of the Deceased Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States. R. H. Clarke.
  5. ^ a b c "Bishop Henry Damian Juncker". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
  6. ^ Hakel, Joseph A., "Holy Cross: Columbus' First Parish", Catholic Record Society, vol. IV, no. 3, March 1978
  7. ^ a b c d Clarke, Richard Henry (1888). "Right Rev. Henry Damian Juncker, D.D.". Lives of the Deceased Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States.
  8. ^ Zurbonsen, A., "The Catholic Bishops of the Diocese of Alton, Illinois", Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1908-1984) Vol. 10, No. 1 (Apr., 1917), pp. 127-137
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
none
Bishop of Alton
1857–1868
Succeeded by