Finding aid for the Msgr. Martin T. Gilligan Papers

Biography of Msgr. Martin T. Gilligan

Msgr. Martin T. Gilligan (25 February 1914 - 21 June 1993) was born in Cincinnati and the son of Martin and Mary (nee Patten) Gilligan. He studied at St. Gregory Seminary, the Gregorian University in Rome, and the Lateran University, also in Rome. He was ordained on 8 December 1939 at the American College, Rome. He served at parishes in Cincinnati and soon after was loaned to the Diocese of St. Augustine, Florida until his service as a US Navy Chaplain 1944-1946. At that time, he was assigned by the Holy See to the Vatican Prisoner of War Information Service in Algiers, Africa. In July 1944 he was transferred to the Vatican Secretariat of State as an attache to Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini, who later became Pope Paul VI. He was co-founder of the USO Club of Rome and the founding spiritual director of the Rome Allied Holy Name Society. In July 1946 Rev. Gilligan was transferred to the Vatican Legation in China where he served until January 1953. He served concurrently as US Military Vicar Delegate for the Far East outside of Japan and Korea and as representative of the Catholic Relief Services in Southeast Asia. In January 1950 he was name a Papal Chamberlain with the title of Very Reverend Monsignor. In March 1953 Msgr. Gilligan returned to Cincinnati and served in various parishes around the city and Dayton. In June 1953 he was named Assistant Director of the Propagation of the Faith, in December 1965 a Diocesan Consultor, in May 1966 and Domestic Prelate, and in January 1974 a Dean of the Dayton Deanery. Msgr. Gilligan retired in January 1989 and took up residence at Christ the King Parish in Cincinnati.

Scope and Content

Records in this collection come from Msgr. Gilligan's ministry as a Navy Chaplain and his activities with the Apostolic Internunciature in Hong Kong. Correspondence files from Hong Kong span the years 1951-1952. Following his resignation in early 1953, files cover his work with the Catholic Welfare Committee of China in 1953-1955. These files include correspondence with persons connected with his work, including Cardinal Montini (later Pope Paul VI), Archbishop Karl Alter, and Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

This record group is open for access.

The following record groups held by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Archives contain materials relevant to Msgr. Martin Gilligan's papers: RG 6.1: Deceased Priests

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Persons:

Preferred Citation

Item Description, date, box number, folder number, Record Group Number, Record Group Name, Archdiocese of Cincinnati Archives

Detailed Description of The Collection