Francis J. Haas

Infobox Person
name = Francis J. Haas


image_size =
caption =
birth_name = Francis Joseph Haas
birth_date = March 18, 1889
birth_place = Racine, Wisconsin
death_date = August 29, 1953
death_place = Grand Rapids, Michigan
death_cause = heart attack
resting_place = Resurrection Cemetery, Wyoming, Michigan
resting_place_coordinates =
residence =
nationality = United States
ethnicity =
citizenship = United States
other_names =
known_for =
education =St. Francis Seminary, Johns Hopkins, Catholic University
alma_mater =
employer =
occupation = priest, labor mediator, bishop
title = Bishop of Grand Rapids, Michigan
term = 1943-1953
predecessor = Joseph C. Plagens
successor = Allen James Babcock
boards = National Labor Relations Board, President's Committee on Civil Rights
religion = Roman Catholic
parents = Peter Francis Haas, Mary Lucy O'Day
relations =


website =
footnotes =

Francis Joseph Haas (1889-1953) was an American Roman Catholic bishop and advocate for social justice. He was bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids from 1943 until his death in 1953.

Early Life and Training

Francis Haas was born in Racine, Wisconsin on March 18, 1889. He studied at St. Francis Seminary, and was ordained in 1913. He was later appointed rector of St. Francis in 1935, and was president of the Catholic Association for International Peace. [cite journal |title=Dr. Francis Haas is new St. Francis Seminary Rector. |journal=Catholic Herald Citizen |year=1935 |issue=Nov. 9 |url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/wlhba/articleView.asp?pg=1&orderby=&id=1802&pn=1&adv=yes&hdl=&np=&ln=Haas&fn=Francis&q=Rev%2E&y1=&y2=&ci=&co=&mhd=&shd= |accessdate=2008-08-01]

Labor Relations

As a mediator for the National Labor Board, he helped settle the Minneapolis Teamsters strike in 1934. [cite journal |title=Federal Men Seek Minneapolis Peace |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20A10FC3858177A93CBA8178CD85F408385F9&scp=1&sq=%22Francis%20J.%20Haas%22&st=cse |journal=New York Times |year=1934 |issue=July 19 |accessdate=2008-07-31]

Civil Rights

He was a member of President Harry Truman's President's Committee on Civil Rights, 1946-1947.

Bishop of Grand Rapids

In 1943, he resigned from his position as chairman of the President's Committee on Fair Employment Practice to become the bishop of Grand Rapids, Michigan. [cite journal |title=Mgr. Haas resigns as job bias arbiter. |journal=New York Times |year=1943 |issue=October 3 |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60713FB3954107B93C1A9178BD95F478485F9&scp=4&sq=%22Francis%20J.%20Haas%22&st=cse ] He hosted a National Liturgical Conference at the Grand Rapids Civic Auditorium in 1953, and died eight days later on August 29, 1953, of a heart attack. [Ancona, Gaspar F. "Where the Star Came to Rest" page 108, 2001 ISBN 2-7468-0317-8]

References

ources

*Blantz, Thomas E. "A priest in public service: Francis J. Haas and the New Deal." University of Notre Dame Press, 1982 ISBN 0268015473
* [http://libraries.cua.edu/achrcua/haas.html Francis J Haas Papers]
* [http://www.dioceseofgrandrapids.org/history/haas.html Biographical Sketch, Diocese of Grand Rapids]
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bhaas.html Bishop Francis J. Haas, Catholic Hierarchy]
* [http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=1365&keyword=haas Bishop Francis J. Haas, Dictionary of Wisconsin History, Wisconsin Historical Society]