John Lancaster Spalding

John Lancaster Spalding
Bishop of Peoria
Church	Roman Catholic
See	Diocese of Peoria
In Office	May 23, 1877 – September 11, 1908 (retired)
Successor	Edmund Michael Dunne
Orders
Ordination	December 19, 1863
Personal details
Born	June 2, 1840 Lebanon, Kentucky, USA
Died	August 25, 1916 Peoria, Illinois, USA

John Lancaster Spalding (June 2, 1840 – August 25, 1916) was an American author, poet, advocate for higher education, the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria from 1877 to 1908 and a co-founder of The Catholic University of America.

Peoria's Catholic high school for boys, Spalding Institute, was named for him; the school was closed in 1989 during the Peoria Notre Dame High School merger. Spalding Hall at The Catholic University of America is also named for him.

Early years

He was born on June 2, 1840 in Lebanon, Kentucky and ordained a priest at age 23, on December 19, 1863, in the Diocese of Louisville. His uncle, Martin John Spalding, later became Bishop of Louisville then Archbishop of Baltimore, but did not live to see John himself become bishop.

Bishop

On November 11, 1876, Pope Pius IX appointed Spalding as the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria, newly created out of part of the then-Diocese of Chicago. He was installed as the first Bishop of Peoria on May 23, 1877 by Cardinal John McCloskey, Archbishop of New York, with Thomas Patrick Roger Foley, Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Chicago presiding.

As bishop, Spalding was a proponent of education. He was instrumental in the founding of The Catholic University of America, and several Catholic schools in Peoria were founded during his tenure. He also oversaw the construction of St. Mary's Cemetery just outside Peoria (now in West Peoria, Illinois).

Spalding was the author of several books, including a biography of his uncle Archbishop Martin John Spalding, and poetry under the pseudonym Henry Hamilton.

Spalding became paralyzed from a stroke in 1905 and, as a result, retired on September 11, 1908 at the age of 68 and was appointed Titular Bishop of Scythopolis, by Pope Pius X. He died on August 25, 1916, aged 76.

Publications

• Essays and Reviews
• Lectures and Discourses
• Education and the Higher Life
• The Poet's Praise (as Henry Hamilton)
• Opportunity and Other Essays (as Henry Hamilton)

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External links

Preceded by None	Bishop of Peoria 1877 – 1908	Succeeded by Edmund Michael Dunne
Preceded by Joseph-Marie Raya	Titular Bishop of Scythopolis 1908 – 1916	Succeeded by Antonio Tani