Henry Conwell (1748-22 April 1842) was the Bishop of Philadelphia from 1819 to 1842, succeeding Michael Francis Egan and preceding Francis Kenrick.
Biography[]
Henry Conwell was born in Moneymore, County Londonderry, Ireland in 1748, and he became an ordained priest in Paris in 1776. In 1794, he became Vicar of the Archdiocese of Armagh, and he became acting archbishop in 1818. In 1819, he was named Bishop of Philadelphia after the death of Michael Francis Egan, and he arrived in the United States in 1820. He spent much of his time arguing with the trustees of his parishes, and he was recalled to Rome in 1826 after giving too much power to the laymen of his archbishopric. Conwell remained archbishop until his death in 1842, but his Coadjutor Francis Kenrick exercised the real power over the archbishopric while Conwell was outside of the USA. He later returned to Philadelphia and performed some priestly duties, and he died in 1842 at the age of 94.