John Ireland Collection

As a proponent of education for women, Archbishop John Ireland played an important role in the founding of the College of St. Catherine by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1905. During the early 1890s, he helped his sister, Mother Seraphine Ireland, CSJ, to acquire 110 acres of land at the corner of Cleveland and Randolph Avenues in St. Paul. The archbishop also provided financial assistance by signing over the rights to his book, The Church and Modern Society. The sisters sold 20,000 copies of the book by going door to door, raising $60,000 for the college building fund.

According to a biographical article from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis: "John Ireland was born in Ireland; his family came to the U.S. and eventually settled in Saint Paul. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Grace in 1861, and then served as a chaplain of the Fifth Minnesota Regiment in the Civil War until 1863. In 1875, he was consecrated coadjutor bishop of Saint Paul by Bishop Grace and became the third bishop of the Diocese of Saint Paul (1884-1888) and its first Archbishop (1888-1918) when the diocese was raised to a metropolitan see in May 1888. During his tenure, Archbishop Ireland became one of the most influential American bishops of his time. He was a dominant figure in religious, social and political spheres for over half a century, as his charismatic personality and commanding figure shaped both religious and civil movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries... The development of education is one the defining characteristics that Archbishop Ireland was known for. He founded the College (now University) of Saint Thomas in 1885, including the preparatory school now known as Saint Thomas Academy, the Saint Paul Seminary, and procured land for the College of Saint Catherine. In addition, he was instrumental in the establishment of the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., being one of four bishops who served on the founding committee."