Sylvester Horton Rosecrans

Catholic bishop

His Excellency, The Most Reverend Sylvester Horton Rosecrans
Bishop of Columbus Titular Bishop of Pompeiopolis

Church	Roman Catholic Church
See	Columbus
In office	March 3, 1868 – October 21, 1878
Successor	John Ambrose Watterson
Orders
Ordination	June 5, 1852
Consecration	March 25, 1862 by John Baptist Purcell Martin John Spalding John Luers^[1]
Personal details
Born	(1827-02-05)February 5, 1827 Homer, Ohio, USA
Died	October 21, 1878(1878-10-21) (aged 51) Columbus, Ohio, USA
Previous post(s)	Auxiliary Bishop of Cincinnati (1862–1868)

Sylvester Horton Rosecrans (February 5, 1827 – October 21, 1878) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Columbus in Ohio from 1868 until his death in 1878. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in Ohio from 1862 to 1868.

Biography

Early life

Sylvester Rosecrans was born on February 5, 1827, in Homer, Ohio, to Crandell and Jane (née Hopkins) Rosecrans, the youngest of four sons.^[2] Crandell's family came from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, then moved to Kingston Township, Ohio.^[3] Jane was the granddaughter of Stephen Hopkins, the Colonial Governor of Rhode Island, and grandniece of Esek Hopkins, the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War.^[4] Sylvester Rosecrans' brother was General William Rosecrans of the Union Army, who fought in the American Civil War.^[5]

Raised in a Methodist family, Rosecrans spent his childhood in Licking County, Ohio, in the town of Homer.^[3]^[6] Crandall worked both as a farmer and as an engineer.^[6] While attending Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio in 1845, he received a letter from William Rosecrans announcing his conversion to Catholicism.^[3] Influenced by his brother's conversion, Rosecrans converted to Catholicism that same year, being ministered to by Jean-Baptiste Lamy while the latter was serving as a missionary priest in the area. After leaving Kenyon College, he enrolled at St. John's College in New York City.^[7] After graduating from St. John's in 1846 with high honors, Rosecrans decided to enter the priesthood. Archbishop John Purcell sent him to Rome to study at the Pontifical Urbaniana University, where he earned his Doctor of Theology degree.^[2]

Priesthood

Rosecrans was ordained into the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in Rome by Cardinal Costantino Patrizi on June 5, 1852.^[8]

After touring through Italy, France, England, and Ireland, Rosecrans returned to Cincinnati. His first assignment was as pastor of St. Thomas' Parish in Cincinnati.^[7] He was then assigned as a curate at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral Parish and as a professor at Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West, both in Cincinnati.^[7] In 1859, Archbishop Purcell opened a college for Catholic youth in connection with the seminary and named Rosecrans as its president.^[3] However, the college closed in 1861 with the outbreak of the American Civil War.^[2]

Auxiliary Bishop of Cincinnati

On December 23, 1861, Rosecrans was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cincinnati and titular bishop of Pompeiopolis by Pope Pius IX.^[8] He received his episcopal consecration on March 25, 1862, from Archbishop Purcell, with Bishops Martin Spalding and John Luers serving as co-consecrators, at St. Peter's Cathedral.^[8] Following the consecration of Edward Fitzgerald as Bishop of Little Rock in February 1867, Rosecrans replaced him as pastor of St. Patrick's Parish in Columbus.^[2]

Bishop of Columbus

Rosecrans was named the first bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Columbus on March 3, 1868, by Pope Pius IX .^[8] The new diocese included central, south central, and southeastern Ohio, roughly running from the Scioto River on the west across to the Ohio River along the east; it comprised 32 parishes and about 41,000 Catholics.^[9] Rosecrans journeyed throughout the diocese by stagecoach, wagon, or steamboat.^[10] The Vatican excused him from participating in the First Vatican Council (1869–1870) in Rome in order to tend to his new diocese.^[2]

During his 10-year-long tenure, Rosecrans founded St. Aloysius Seminary for young men in 1871, dedicated the diocese to the Sacred Heart in December 1873, and established the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Columbian, in 1875.^[2]^[7] Rosecrans founded the following institutions in Columbus:

St. Aloysius Seminary (1871)
St. Mary's of the Springs Academy for Young Ladies (1868)^[11]
St. Joseph's Academy (1875) ^[12]
St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum (1875) ^[13]
Sacred Heart Convent^[3]

Rosecrans' greatest achievement was the construction of St. Joseph's Cathedral in Columbus, costing $220,000. He consecrated it on October 20, 1878.^[7]

Death and legacy

Sylvester Rosecrans died in Columbus on October 21, 1878, the day after the cathedral consecration. He was age 51. Bishop Rosecrans High School in Zanesville, Ohio, is named after him.

References

^ Clarke, D.A. (1918). Diocese of Columbus : the history of fifty years, 1868-1918. Columbus: Diocese of Columbus. p. 30.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Clarke, Richard Henry (February 9, 2018) [1872]. Lives of the Deceased Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States (Paperback). New York: P. O'Shea, Publisher, Sagwan Press. ISBN 978-1377216836. 1377216837.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "William and Sylvester Rosecrans". Catholic Encyclopedia.
^ "William Starke Rosecrans". Home of the American Civil War.
^ "Major General William Starke Rosecrans". Big Walnut Area Historical Society.
^ ^a ^b In Memoriam Rt Rev S.H. Rosecrans, D.D., First Bishop of Columbus, died October 21, 1878, aged, 52 years. Columbus: Catholic Columbian Print., Columbus. 1878.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "The Bishops of Columbus". Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Bishop Sylvester Horton Rosecrans". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
^ "Diocese History". Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus.
^ "Diocese of Columbus". Catholic Encyclopedia.
^ "St. Marys of the Springs | Historical Reflections: The Medical Heritage Center Blog". Retrieved 2022-06-19.
^ "St. Joseph's Academy". digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
^ "852S1551889". digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org. Retrieved 2022-06-19.

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by none	Bishop of Columbus 1868–1878	Succeeded by John Ambrose Watterson

Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus

Bishops

Ordinaries: Sylvester Horton Rosecrans; John Ambrose Watterson; Henry K. Moeller; James Joseph Hartley; Michael Joseph Ready; Clarence George Issenmann; John Carberry; Clarence Edward Elwell; Edward John Herrmann; James Anthony Griffin; Frederick F. Campbell; Robert J. Brennan; Earl K. Fernandes

Auxiliaries: Edward Gerard Hettinger; George Avis Fulcher

Churches

Cathedral: St. Joseph Cathedral

Basilica: Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption, Lancaster

Parishes: St. Mary's Church, Delaware; St. John the Evangelist Church, Logan; St. Mary's Church, Portsmouth; St. Joseph's Church, Somerset; St. Nicholas Church, Zanesville; St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Zanesville; St. Patrick Church, Columbus; Holy Cross Church, Columbus; Sacred Heart Church, Columbus; Holy Family Church, Columbus

Oratory: St. Leo Oratory, Columbus

Education

Higher education: Ohio Dominican University

Seminary: Pontifical College Josephinum

High schools: Bishop Hartley High School, Columbus; Bishop Ready High School, Columbus; Bishop Rosecrans High School, Zanesville; Bishop Watterson High School, Columbus; Cristo Rey Columbus High School, Columbus; Newark Catholic High School, Newark; Notre Dame High School, Portsmouth; Saint Charles Preparatory School, Columbus; St. Francis DeSales High School, Columbus; Saints Peter and Paul Seminary, Heath; Tuscarawas Central Catholic High School, New Philadelphia; William V. Fisher Catholic High School, Lancaster

Priests

Nicolaus Aloysius Gallagher

Francis William Howard

Leonard J. Fick

Museums

Museum of Catholic Art and History

Shrines

St. Therese Retreat Center

Catholicism portal

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati

v t e Ordinaries of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Bishop	Edward Fenwick
Archbishops	John Baptist Purcell William Henry Elder Henry K. Moeller John T. McNicholas Karl Joseph Alter Paul Francis Leibold Joseph Bernardin Daniel Edward Pilarczyk Dennis Marion Schnurr
Catholicism portal

v t e Churches in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Cathedral	Cathedral Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains
Parishes	Cincinnati Church of the Annunciation Immaculata Church Old St. Mary's Church St. Aloysius on the Ohio St. Francis De Sales Church Saint Francis Seraph Church St. Francis Xavier Church St. Lawrence Church St. Pius X Church St. Rose Church Dayton Holy Cross Church Sacred Heart Church St. Adalbert Church St. Mary's Church Springfield St. Joseph's Church St. Raphael's Church Other Immaculate Conception Church, Botkins St. Aloysius Church, Carthagena Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, Cassella Immaculate Conception Church, Celina Precious Blood Church, Chickasaw Our Lady of Victory Church, Delhi Township St. Joseph's Church, Egypt Holy Family Church, Frenchtown St. John's Church, Fryburg St. Patrick's Church, Glynwood St. John the Baptist Church, Maria Stein Sacred Heart Church, McCartyville St. Michael's Church, Mechanicsburg St. Augustine's Church, Minster St. Louis Church, North Star St. Nicholas Church, Osgood St. Anthony's Church, Padua St. Remy's Church, Russia St. Henry's Church, St. Henry Holy Rosary Church, St. Marys St. Rose's Church, St. Rose St. Sebastian's Church, Sebastian St. Joseph's Church, Wapakoneta
Former parishes	All Saints Church, Cincinnati Holy Trinity Church, Cincinnati St. Augustine Church, Cincinnati St. George's Church, Cincinnati St. Michael the Archangel Church, Cincinnati St. Paul Church, Cincinnati St. Philomena's Church, Cincinnati St. Patrick's Church, St. Patrick
Shrine	Shrine of the Holy Relics

v t e Education in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Higher education	Chatfield College University of Dayton Edgecliff College Mount St. Joseph University Xavier University
Seminary	Athenaeum of Ohio – Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West
High schools	Cincinnati DePaul Cristo Rey High School Elder High School La Salle High School Mercy McAuley High School Archbishop McNicholas High School Purcell Marian High School Seton High School St. Ursula Academy St. Xavier High School Summit Country Day School Ursuline Academy Dayton Carroll High School Chaminade Julienne High School Other Archbishop Alter High School, Kettering Father Stephen T. Badin High School, Hamilton Catholic Central School, Springfield Bishop Fenwick High School, Franklin Lehman Catholic High School, Sidney Moeller High School, Kenwood Mount Notre Dame High School, Reading Royalmont Academy, Mason Roger Bacon High School, St. Bernard St. Rita School for the Deaf, Evendale

v t e Clergy of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Auxiliary bishops	Sylvester Horton Rosecrans Joseph H. Albers George John Rehring Paul Francis Leibold Edward A. McCarthy Nicholas Elko Daniel Edward Pilarczyk James Henry Garland Carl K. Moeddel Joseph R. Binzer
Priests	John Martin Henni Edward Fitzgerald Clarence George Issenmann Henry Damian Juncker Joshua Maria Young John Baptist Lamy James Frederick Wood John Henry Luers Caspar Henry Borgess Richard Gilmour John Quinlan Augustus Toebbe Joseph Gregory Dwenger Henry Richter Francis Beckman Urban John Vehr Francis Augustine Thill Anthony John King Mussio John Joseph Kaising Robert Daniel Conlon Michael William Warfel Earl K. Fernandes