John Patrick Treacy

Treacy was born in Marlborough, Massachusetts, the only child of John and Ann (née O'Kane) Treacy.[1] He attended the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, and studied at Harvard Law School before enrolling at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.[2] Following his graduation from the Catholic University in 1912, he returned to Massachusetts and studied at St. John's Seminary in Brighton.[1]

He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio, on December 8, 1918.[3]

After 12 years in parish work, Treacy became diocesan director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in 1931.[2] He was elevated to a domestic prelate by Pope Pius XI in 1934.[1] In 1939, he was named by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a 25-member committee for a good-neighbor mission to Latin America.[2]

On August 22, 1945, Treacy was appointed coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and titular bishop of Metelis by Pope Pius XII.[3] He received his episcopal consecration on the following October 2 from Archbishop Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, with Bishops Edward Francis Hoban and William David O'Brien serving as co-consecrators.[3]

Upon the death of Bishop Alexander Joseph McGavick, Treacy succeeded him as the fifth Bishop of La Crosse on August 25, 1948.[3] During his 16-year tenure, he founded Holy Cross Seminary, oversaw the construction of the Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Workman, and established 47 churches, 43 convents, and 42 schools.[2] He also ordered the closing of the Necedah Shrine of Mrs. Mary Van Hoof in 1950.[4] He attended the first two sessions of the Second Vatican Council between 1962 and 1963.[3]

Treacy died at St. Francis Hospital in La Crosse.[2]