Gannon University - Lance Yearbook (Erie, PA)

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A birthday SaMt m Ifis lExttUtnm On June twelfth of this year Archhishop Gannon will celebrate his eightieth birthday. At this time the city will honor its most outstanding octogenarian. Born in Erie, the son of Thomas and Julia Gannon. John Mark Gannon was the seventh child of a family of nine. He was reared in the warm and loving atmosphere of a modest Catholic family which then resided on West 11th Street in Erie. After his graduation from Central High School, the young man worked in the office of the Erie City Iron Works, an experience which no doubt helped to develop his familiarity with the problems of the working man. He also was tutored in Latin in preparation for the priesthood. He enrolled at St. Bonaventure College and there formed friendships with other men who have since become some of his closest acquaintances. The young Gannon was ordained on December 21, 1901, and began furthering his studies, this time at Catholic University, in preparation of the high place in the Church which his contemporaries and teachers knew he would some day assume. After assisting at various diocesan parishes for a short time. Father Gannon, in 1904, sailed to Europe where he continued his studies at the University of Munich and the Appolinare University of Rome where he earned a doctorate in Canon Law and Sacred Theology. The young Doctor of the Church received an appointment to hi s first parish in 1907, when he was assigned to Cambridge Springs as a resident pastor. This began his fantastic career in the Erie diocese during which he has performed feats which by many were thought impossible. Upon the death of Bishop Fitzmaurice in 1920, John Mark Gannon was in- stalled as Bishop of Erie. His first major accomplishment was the erection of the million dollar St. Joseph's Home four years later. From that time on, Bishop Gannon has successfully completed many projects which until this time were not believed possible for any one man. In the majority of the cases, he has taken the welfare of the young people into consideration above all else. It was only a little more than a decade ago that he founded Gannon College, an institution which through his guidance has grown in tremendous proportions. It has been a full life for Bishop Gannon. It has been a life which many men with combined efforts could not duplicate. Still, he is not finished. He is con- stantly striving to better the conditions of his diocese and will not rest until he has done everything in his power to meet this end. This truly is an indication of his en- viable and admirable character.

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