Francis J. Haas
Francis Joseph Haas was an American Roman Catholic bishop and advocate for social justice. He was the sixth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids from 1943 until his death in 1953.Early life and training
Francis Haas was born in Racine, Wisconsin. He studied at St. Francis Seminary, and was ordained on June 11, 1913, for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee. He was later appointed rector of St. Francis in 1935, and was president of the Catholic Association for International Peace.Labor relations
As a mediator for the National Labor Board, he helped settle the Minneapolis Teamsters strike in 1934.Civil rights
He was a member of President Harry Truman's President's Committee on Civil Rights, 1946–1947.In 1943, he resigned from his position as chairman of the President's Committee on Fair Employment Practice to become the bishop of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Pope Pius XII appointed him bishop on September 26, 1943, and he was consecrated on November 18, 1943. He hosted a National Liturgical Conference at the Grand Rapids Civic Auditorium in 1953, and died eight days later on August 29, 1953, of a heart attack.
