Francis J. Haas
Born	Francis Joseph Haas March 18, 1889 Racine, Wisconsin
Died	August 29, 1953 Grand Rapids, Michigan
Cause of death	heart attack
Resting place	Resurrection Cemetery, Wyoming, Michigan
Nationality	United States
Citizenship	United States
Education	St. Francis Seminary, Johns Hopkins, Catholic University
Occupation	priest, labor mediator, bishop
Title	Bishop of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Term	1943-1953
Predecessor	Joseph C. Plagens
Successor	Allen James Babcock
Board member of	National Labor Relations Board, President's Committee on Civil Rights
Religious beliefs	Roman Catholic
Parents	Peter Francis Haas, Mary Lucy O'Day

Francis Joseph Haas (1889-1953) was an American Roman Catholic bishop and advocate for social justice. He was the sixth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids from 1943 until his death in 1953.

Contents 1 Early Life and Training 2 Labor Relations 3 Civil Rights 4 Bishop of Grand Rapids 5 References 6 Sources

[edit] Early Life and Training

Francis Haas was born in Racine, Wisconsin on March 18, 1889. He studied at St. Francis Seminary, and was ordained on June 11, 1913, for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee. He was later appointed rector of St. Francis in 1935, and was president of the Catholic Association for International Peace.^[1]

[edit] Labor Relations

As a mediator for the National Labor Board, he helped settle the Minneapolis Teamsters strike in 1934.^[2]

[edit] Civil Rights

He was a member of President Harry Truman's President's Committee on Civil Rights, 1946-1947.

[edit] Bishop of Grand Rapids

In 1943, he resigned from his position as chairman of the President's Committee on Fair Employment Practice to become the bishop of Grand Rapids, Michigan.^[3] Pope Pius XII appointed him bishop on September 26, 1943, and he was consecrated on November 18, 1943. He hosted a National Liturgical Conference at the Grand Rapids Civic Auditorium in 1953, and died eight days later on August 29, 1953, of a heart attack.^[4]

[edit] References

[edit] Sources

• Blantz, Thomas E. A priest in public service: Francis J. Haas and the New Deal. University of Notre Dame Press, 1982 ISBN 0268015473
• Francis J Haas Papers
• Biographical Sketch, Diocese of Grand Rapids
• Bishop Francis J. Haas, Catholic Hierarchy
• Bishop Francis J. Haas, Dictionary of Wisconsin History, Wisconsin Historical Society