"gossip with footnotes"
From the dean of American church historians
John Tracy Ellis died on this date in 1992. Born in 1905, the New York Times called Monsignor Ellis “the dean of American church historians.”
The “unofficial title captured both his stature and his longevity.”1
“More than anyone Ellis insisted that historians tell the truth as they found it. His career spanned most of the 20th century and so his career was of more than scholarly interest. Ellis became a counselor to bishops and cardinals, too.”2
The Seneca, Illinois native was ordained in 1939, was professor of church history and theology at the Catholic University of America 1938-64 and 1977-89.
Ellis was prolific. Many of his books and articles are “must-haves” for the bookshelf of anyone interested in the history of the Church in America Among them:
Cardinal Consalvi and Anglo-Papal Relations, 1814-1825. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1942.
The Formative Years of the Catholic University of America. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1946
The Life of James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore. Milwaukee, WI: Bruce Pub. Co., 1952.
Catholic Bishops: A Memoir. Wilmington, Delaware: Michael Glazier, 1983.
A Commitment to Truth. Latrobe, PA: The Archabbey Press, 1966.
"American Catholics and the Intellectual Life." Thought. 30 (1955), 351-88.
Faith and Learning: A Church Historian's Story. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1989.
American Catholicism. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1956.
One outstanding testament to Ellis and his teaching is the number of his former students at Catholic University who later made significant contributions to church history. The long list includes well-known historians Fr. Joseph P. Chinnici, OFM, Cardinal Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Fr. James Hennesey, SJ, and Fr. Thomas J. Shelley.
Among Shelley’s contributions is a biography titled John Tracy Ellis: An American Catholic Reformer (CUA Press, 2023).
In 2023, Cardinal Dolan wrote an essay in America magazine recalling the wit and wisdom of Ellis.
According to Dolan, Ellis would start each semester with the same quote: “If you lack wisdom, God can give it to you; if you lack knowledge, I can provide it; if you lack common sense, nobody can help you!”
You can find the entire essay here. You will find a number of other quotes that stand out, including “History is akin to gossip with footnotes.”
Michael Winters, Biography delves into life of famed church historian John Tracy Ellis, National Catholic Reporter, October 23, 2023.
Ibid.
I am happy to see your Merton column today…it has given me to impetus to write something I have wanted to write for years…”Whither Merton.” I argue he would have ended up very much like Fr. Matthew Kelty…you may know of him if you visited them years ago…he went through much of the same things as Merton, though not the women or beer…