Joseph Sarsfield Glass

Who was Joseph Sarsfield Glass?

Joseph Sarsfield Glass, C.M. was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Salt Lake from 1915 until his death in 1926.

Glass was born in Bushnell, Illinois, to James and Mary Edith Glass. After receiving his early education in Sedalia, Missouri, he entered St. Vincent's College at Los Angeles, California, in 1887. He returned to Missouri in 1891 and then enrolled at St. Mary's Seminary in Perryville. From there he joined the Congregation of the Mission, also known as the Lazarists or Vincentians. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop George Thomas Montgomery on August 15, 1897. He then furthered his studies at the College of the Propaganda in Rome, where he earned his Doctor of Divinity in 1899.

Upon his return to the United States, Glass taught dogmatic theology at St. Mary's Seminary until 1900, when he became professor of moral theology and director of the seminarians. In June 1901 he was named president of St. Vincent's College and pastor of St. Vincent's Church at Los Angeles. During his 10-year-long presidency, he broadened the curriculum to a full university course and made it one of the most prominent educational institutions in Southern California.