James Francis Aloysius McIntyre (June 25, 1886 – July 16, 1979) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Los Angeles from 1948 to 1970, and was created a cardinal in 1953. He was a highly successful builder of new parishes, churches, and schools. He was notable in Church politics, and his reputation remains highly controversial.
Early life
James McIntyre was born in Manhattan to James and Mary (née Pelly) McIntyre. His father was a native of New York City and member of the mounted police, and his mother was from Kiltormer, County Galway, Ireland. McIntyre attended Public School No. 70 because there was no room for him at the local parochial school.
His father was rendered an invalid after falling from his horse in Central Park and sustaining serious injuries; his mother then opened a dressmaking business to support the family. Following his mother's death in 1896, McIntyre and his father were taken into the nearby home of a relative. He did not attend high school, instead becoming an errand boy in the financial market. He attended night school at Columbia University and City College.
At age 16, McIntyre became a runner on the New York Stock Exchange, working for the brokerage firm of H.L. Horton & Co. He was offered a junior partnership at Horton in 1914, but declined in order to pursue Holy Orders. He then studied at Cathedral College for a year before entering St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers where he was a friend of Patrick O'Boyle.
Priesthood
McIntyre was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Patrick Hayes on May 21, 1921. He then served as assistant pastor of St. Gabriel's Church in the Lower East Side until 1923, whence he became assistant chancellor for the Archdiocese of New York. He was promoted to chancellor in 1934, and named Privy Chamberlain of His Holiness, Pius XI on December 27 of that year. Appointed a Domestic Prelate by Pope Pius XI on November 12, 1936.
Following the appointment of Francis Spellman to Archbishop of New York in 1939, McIntyre was named to the archdiocesan board of consultors. In 1939, he formed the Columbiettes, a Knights of Columbus women's auxiliary.
Episcopate
New York
On November 16, 1940, McIntyre was appointed auxiliary bishop of New York and titular bishop of Cyrene by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration on January 8, 1941, from Archbishop Spellman, with Stephen Donahue and John O'Hara serving as co-consecrators, in St. Patrick's Cathedral. He became vicar general of the archdiocese on January 27, 1945, and received the Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre in May 1946. He once said that accounts of anti-Semitism in New York were "a manufactured movement...for the deliberate purpose of besmirching the minority Catholic population."
On July 20, 1946, McIntyre was named coadjutor bishop of New York and titular archbishop of Paltus. Despite never succeeding Spellman as archbishop, he assisted in the governance of the archdiocese while Spellman was busied by his additional duties as Apostolic Vicar for the Military Forces. Spellman once said, "I have never undertaken any important matter without consulting [McIntyre]. In nothing have I gone contrary to his advice." In 1947, McIntyre spoke out against legislation that would "permit further encroachments on the parental function of education."
Los Angeles
McIntyre was appointed the second archbishop of Los Angeles, California, on February 7, 1948. Replacing the late John J. Cantwell, he was installed at St. Vibiana's Cathedral on the following March 19. In McIntyre's first four years alone, 26 new parishes, 64 parochial schools, and 18 high schools were established. At one point during his tenure, he oversaw the construction of a new church every 66 days and a new school every 26 days to accommodate the post-World War II population boom. As archbishop, he led the successful effort to repeal the state tax on Catholic schools. In 1967 he consulted with California Governor Ronald Reagan regarding a proposed law to legalize abortion. He convinced Reagan to veto the law if it allowed abortions in case of birth defects. The legislature dropped that provision and Reagan signed the law, which decriminalized abortions when done to protect the health of the mother.