John Francis O'Hern

Who was John Francis O'Hern?

John Francis O'Hern was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Rochester from 1929 until his death in 1933.

One of ten children, John O'Hern was born in Olean, New York, to Patrick and Ellen O'Hern. Three of his brothers also entered the priesthood, and another served in the field staff of General John J. Pershing during World War I. After graduating from Olean High School, he attended St. Andrew's Preparatory Seminary and St. Bernard's Seminary in Rochester. In 1897 he was sent to further his studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, and later earned a Doctor of Divinity from the College of Propaganda.

O'Hern was ordained a priest by Cardinal Pietro Respighi on February 17, 1901. Upon his return to Rochester, he was named curate at the Church of the Immaculate Conception and later at St. Patrick's Cathedral, where he became pastor in 1908. He became pastor of Corpus Christi Church in 1921, and vicar general of the Rochester Diocese in 1922.

On January 4, 1929, O'Hern was appointed the third Bishop of Rochester by Pope Pius XI.