Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1937-1954 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
84 items; manuscript, typescript, and clipping
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
James Murtagh was born in Abbeylara in County Longford on 16 March 1894. He received his early education at the local national school in Abbeylara and later at the Seraphic College in Rochestown in County Cork. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in October 1910 and took Stephen as his religious name. He took a BA degree in philosophy from University College Cork. He was ordained to the priesthood in Holy Trinity Church in Cork on 3 May 1918. Shortly after his ordination, he was assigned to the United States mission and was appointed associate pastor at Our Lady of Angels Parish in Hermiston in Oregon. In 1937 he succeeded Fr. Joseph Fenlon OFM Cap. as Custos Provincial, a position he held until 1956 when Fr. Emilian Meade OFM Cap. succeeded him. During his nineteen-year term Fr. Stephen served as pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish located in the heart of Silver Lake, near Downtown Los Angeles. He was instrumental in establishing Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Elementary School which opened on 6 September 1938. He also oversaw the opening of the friary at McKenzie Bridge in Oregon in 1937. This foundation never developed due in part to its isolated location. In 1954 he withdrew the Capuchin friars from there, handing over the staffing of the house to the Dominican Order. In 1947 Fr. Stephen supervised the seminary experiment at Old Mission Santa Inés near Solvang in California. Despite the expectations, it was not a success, and it was closed just a year later in 1948. However, he did have one lasting success – St. Francis High School in La Cañada Flintridge, California. In 1946 he bought the old Flintridge Golf Club and established a school. It was the beginning of the firm establishment of the Capuchin mission and the eventual growth of what would become the Western American Province of the Order on the Pacific coast. Following the completion of his term as Custos Provincial he served as pastor of St. Francis Parish in Bend, Oregon (1957-66). His last years were spent at St. Francis High School, where he died on 4 March 1980. He is buried in the cemetery adjoining San Lorenzo Seminary at Mission Santa Inés, California.
Baptismal name: James Murtagh
Religious name: Fr. Stephen Murtagh OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 16 Mar. 1894
Place of birth: Ballyboy, Abbeylara, County Longford (Diocese of Ardagh)
Name of father: James Murtagh (Farmer)
Name of mother: Mary Murtagh (née Crawford)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 16 Oct. 1910
Date of first profession: 17 Sept. 1911
Date of final profession: 8 July 1916
Date of ordination (as priest): 3 May 1918
Educational attainments: BA (1915)
Missionary activities: Travelled to the Western United States mission custody in May 1920.
Leadership positions: Custos General: 1937; Custos Provincial: 1937-43, 1946, 1949, 1952, 1955.
Date of death: 4 Mar. 1980
Place of death: St. Francis High School, La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States
Place of burial: Cemetery, Mission Santa Inés, California, United States
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The subseries comprises a collection of the correspondence of Fr. Stephen Murtagh OFM Cap. (1894-1980), an Irish Capuchin missionary in the United States. He served as the Custos Provincial (superior) of the Irish Capuchin mission in the Western United States from 1937 to 1956.
The letters document the administrative, financial, and expansionary efforts of the Capuchin mission in Oregon and California in the mid-twentieth century. The correspondence is chiefly between Father Stephen and the Provincial Minister in Dublin (primarily Fr. Colman Griffin OFM Cap.).
Key Themes and Elements
Expansion and Educational Success: A recurring theme is the development of educational institutions, most notably the establishment and subsequent expansion of St. Francis High School in Flintridge, California (1946). This is characterized as Fr. Stephen’s most ‘lasting success’ and a cornerstone of the mission’s growth.
Financial and Legal Impasses: The letters reveal a constant tension regarding funding for American missionary projects. A major point of conflict was the Irish Government’s refusal to allow the Irish Capuchin Province to underwrite overseas financial liabilities, forcing the American mission to seek local loans.
Property and Mission Management: The series tracks the lifecycle of various mission houses, including the failed ‘seminary experiment’ at Old Mission Santa Inés (1947-1948) and the withdrawal from the isolated foundation at McKenzie Bridge, Oregon, in 1954.
Ecclesiastical Governance: The letters document the formal processes of the Order, such as obtaining ‘Rescripts’ (official papal or provincial permissions) from Rome for new foundations, financial loans, or superior appointments.
Personnel Movements: The letters also detail the assignment of Irish friars to the American mission, as well as personal updates on the health and whereabouts of various members of the clergy.