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Title
Date(s)
- 11 July 1946 (Creation)
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9 pp; typescript
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Louis Riordan was born in Leeds in England on 15 September 1891. He joined the Irish Province of the Capuchin Franciscans in September 1911 and took Urban as his religious name. Soon after his ordination he was sent to the mission custody established by the Irish Capuchins on the west coast of the United States. He was assigned to St. Mary’s parish in Ukiah, Mendocino County, California. During his time in Ukiah, he wrote a short account on the ministry of the Irish friars in the United States. In 1929 he was transferred to the Blessed Sacrament mission in Elk, California, where he ministered until 1936. From 1941 to 1945 he was an associate pastor at Our Lady of Angels parish in Hermiston in Oregon. He returned to Ireland in 1951 and was appointed to communities in Church Street, Dublin, Holy Trinity, Cork, and the Church of St. Francis in Kilkenny. His final years were spent in the Capuchin house in Raheny in Dublin. He died on 1 November 1973 and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.
Baptismal name: Louis Riordan
Religious name: Fr. Urban Riordan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 15 Sept. 1891
Place of birth: Leeds, England
Name of father: William Riordan
Name of mother: Johanna Riordan (née Ryan)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 17 Sept. 1911
Date of first profession: 17 Sept. 1912
Date of final profession: 8 July 1916
Date of ordination (as priest): 3 May 1918
Missionary assignments: Travelled to the United States in November 1919; Returned to Ireland in 1951.
Date of death: 1 Nov. 1973
Place of death: Church Street, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin
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Content and structure area
Scope and content
A document titled ‘Notes for the History of Roseburg Parish, Oregon’ by Fr. Urban Riordan OFM Cap. providing an overview of the early organization, changing territories, and pastoral leadership of St. Joseph’s Parish in Douglas County, Oregon. It records that the parish was organized between 1851 and 1871, originally covering most of eastern Douglas County, with numerous outlying missions including Myrtle Creek, Yoncalla, Riddle, and formerly Marshfield (Coos Bay). The text outlines structural transitions, such as relinquishing Glendale to the Grants Pass parish in 1945, while keeping town masses in Drain active within a community hall. The history includes detailed chronological record of serving clergy compiled from records. It begins with the pioneering missionary travels in 1851 by Rev. Fr. Croke and early pastors at the original St. Stephen’s Church, traces the construction of St. Joseph’s Church under Rev. Fr. Wensersky, and provides an exact timeline of successive pastors from 1889 through 1910, including the transition from diocesan priests to Capuchin friars in 1912 and its subsequent history up to 1946.