The Hierophant.
John Ireland was born on and baptized in Burnchurch, County Kilkenny, Ireland in 1838. His family came to the United States ten years later and settled in Saint Paul in 1852. a year later, Joseph Crétin, first bishop of Saint Paul, sent Ireland to the preparatory seminary of Meximieux in France. John Ireland was ordained in 1861 in Saint Paul. He served as a chaplain of the Fifth Minnesota Regiment in the Civil War until 1863 when he resigned. He was appointed pastor at Saint Paul’s cathedral in 1867. In 1875 he was made coadjutor bishop of St. Paul and in 1884 he became bishop ordinary. In 1888 he became archbishop with the elevation of his diocese and the erection of the ecclesiastical province of Saint Paul. Ireland retained this title for 30 years until his death in 1918. Ireland was known for his progressive ideas on education and he founded the University of Saint Thomas, the Saint Paul Seminary, Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary, and Saint Thomas Academy. The Saint Paul Seminary was established with the help of Methodist James J. Hill, whose wife, Mary Mehegan, was a devout Catholic. In 1900 DeLaSalle High School opened on Nicollet Island with $25,000 from Ireland. In 1914 Ireland purchased an adjacent property for the expanding Christian Brothers school. John Ireland has been referred to as the father of the Orthodox church in America. In 1891, Ireland refused to accept the credentials of Greek-Catholic priest Alexis Toth, citing the decree that married priests of the Eastern Catholic Churches were not permitted to function in the Catholic Church in the United States. Ireland then forbade Toth to minister to his own parishioners,even though Toth had jurisdiction from his own Bishop, and did not depend on Ireland. Toth went on to lead thousands of Greek-Catholics to leave the Catholic Church to join the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1904 Ireland secured the land for the building of the current Cathedral of Saint Paul located atop Summit Hill, the highest point in downtown Saint Paul. On Christmas Day 1903 he commissioned the construction of the almost equally as large Church of Saint Mary, for the local Immaculate Conception parish in Minneapolis. In 1926 The church become the first basilica in the United States. Both buildings were designed and built under the direction of the French architect Emmanuel Louis Masqueray. In 1961 John Ireland Boulevard was named in 1961 in his honor. John Ireland was personal friends with both Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Ireland’s funeral was attended by eight archbishops, thirty bishops, twelve monsignors, seven hundred priests and two hundred seminarians. Ireland burned all of his personal papers before he died.
I’m a little embarrassed to say I’m not sure if I’m pronouncing the word Hierophant correctly. It’s just one of those words you read but never have to say aloud.
The Hierophant or Pope card, when upright, commonly suggests to seek guidance, to follow positive advice endorsed to the querant, to do the right thing, to have faith, to keep on the right side of God, to be a positive role model, to be disciplined in your approach to matters and to clear off negative karma.
It can advise to stick to tradition, what is the “tried & true”, what has been known to work in past & similar situations to what the querent may be facing at the moment. He is the one who is a sustainer, as well as, a “defender of the faith”, exemplifying traditional values, adhering to the status quo, and conforming to conservative standards.
The Hierophant can also represent someone who stands out as a “pillar of the community”, often a person who is respected by others and can be a source of moral authority & is socially respected. He is a group leader &/or teacher of some kind, representing & understanding his group or community, and its history, beliefs, customs and traditions. The Hierophant knows, maintains, protects, & teaches ideas, ideals & principles to other members of his specific group or community, helping them understand who they are & how they are expected to behave as members the same group.
When the card is reversed: A person or situation involving radicalism, non conformity, rebellion, heresy, iconoclasm or demagogery; & those who embody these things. The reversed Hierophant can represent a leader of a radical group of some kind, a promoter & defender of some radical ideologology.
