John D'Alton

infobox cardinalbiog
name = John Francis Cardinal D'Alton †


See = Armagh
Title = Cardinal Archbishop of Armagh
Period = June 13, 1946—February 1, 1963
cardinal = January 12, 1953
Predecessor = Joseph Cardinal MacRory †
Successor = William Cardinal Conway †
post = Bishop of Meath | date of birth = birth date|1882|10|11|mf=y
place of birth = Claremorris, Ireland
date of death = death date and age|1963|2|1|1882|10|11|mf=y
place of death = Dublin, Ireland |

John Francis Cardinal D'Alton (October 11, 1882—February 1, 1963) was an Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Armagh and thus Primate of All Ireland from 1946 to 1963, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1953 by Pope Pius XII.

Biography

John D'Alton was born in Claremorris to Joseph D'Alton (d. April 1, 1883) and his wife Mary Brennan, at the height of the Land Wars in Ireland. He was baptised four days later, on October 15, 1882, with Michael and Mary Brennan acting as his godparents. He obtained an extensive education at Blackrock College, Holy Cross College in Cloniffe, the Royal University in Dublin, Irish College in Rome, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and National University in Dublin. D'Alton was ordained to the priesthood on April 18, 1908, completing his studies in 1910. He then taught Ancient Classics, Latin, and Greek at St. Patrick's College in Maynooth until 1942, becoming its President in 1936, and was raised to the rank of Monsignor on June 27, 1938.

On April 25, 1942, he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Meath and Titular Bishop of "Binda". D'Alton received his episcopal consecration on the following June 29 from Joseph Cardinal MacRory, with Bishops Edward Mulhern and William MacNeely serving as co-consecrators, in the chapel of St. Patrick's College. He later succeeded Thomas Mulvany as Bishop of Meath on June 16, 1943.

D'Alton was named Archbishop of Armagh and thus Primate of All Ireland on June 13, 1946, and was created Cardinal Priest of "S. Agata dei Goti" by Pope Pius XII in the consistory of January 12, 1953. A cardinal elector in the 1958 papal conclave, he was a member of the Central Preparatory Commission of the Second Vatican Council but lived long enough to only attend the Council's first session in 1962.

He died from a heart attack in Dublin [TIME Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,829866,00.html Milestones] February 8, 1963] , at age 80, and was buried on the grounds of St Patrick's Cathedral. He was succeeded by his auxiliary bishop, William Conway.

Cardinal D'Alton was seen to be more ecumenical in outlook than other members of the Irish hierarchy. He tried to broker talks between the Irish Free State and the United Kingdom to ease the tensions between both countries [Ibid.] , even going so far as to address the situation regarding the Irish ports but to no avail. He was also a historian, and authored such works as "Horace and His Age: A Study in Historical Background" (1917), "Roman Literary Theory and Criticism: A Study in Tendencies" (1931), and "Selections from St. John Chrysostom" (1940).

Trivia

*D'Alton's mother had a daughter, Mollie Brennan, from a previous marriage; she remarried again after the Cardinal's father died in 1883.
*He was a close friend of Éamon de Valera, whom he befriended at Blackrock College. In his first year in Blackrock, de Valera beat D'Alton in two subjects, Maths, which he would later go on to teach and, ironically, Religion.
*His nickname was "Jackie".

References

External links

* [http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios-d.htm#DAlton Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church]
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bdaltonj.html Catholic-Hierarchy]