John Edward Gunn

The oldest of eleven children, John Gunn was born in Fivemiletown, County Tyrone, to Edward and Mary (née Grew) Gunn.[1] From 1875 to 1880, he studied at St. Mary's College in Dundalk.[2] He then attended the Marist House of Studies in Paignton, England (1880–1882) before furthering his studies in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University (1885–1890). While in Rome, he made his profession in the Society of Mary on 23 August 1884,[2] and was ordained to the priesthood by Patriarch Iulius Lenti on 2 February 1890.[3]

Gunn then taught at St. Mary's in Dundalk until 1892, when he became professor of moral theology at the Marist House of Studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.[1] In 1898 he was assigned to Atlanta, Georgia, where he served as pastor of the newly erected Sacred Heart Church.[2] The parish was already in debt when he arrived, as evidenced by an entry he made in his ledger upon is arrival: "September 25, 1898. Cash on hand $0.00. Advanced by Father Gunn, $150."[1] In February 1899 it was necessary for him to advance $360 more to meet current expenses.[1] He there purchased an organ and 21 stained glass windows; installed confessionals, furnace, carpeting, and a choir and organ gallery; covered the two towers with copper; and added a second story to the rectory.[1] During his pastorate at Sacred Heart, he also founded and served as the first president of the Marist College, and established a parochial school.[2]

On 29 June 1911, Gunn was appointed the sixth Bishop of Natchez, Mississippi, by Pope Pius X.[3] He received his episcopal consecration on the following 29 August from Archbishop James Blenk, SM, with Bishops Edward Patrick Allen and John Baptist Morris serving as co-consecrators, at Sacred Heart Church.[3] Upon Gunn's arrival that September, the diocese contained 75 churches, 46 priests, and 17,000 Catholics.[4] He then began extensive pastoral visits to all the parishes and missions throughout the diocese, which covered nearly 47,000 square miles.[2]

He received significant assistance from the Catholic Church Extension Society, and incorporated the diocese in 1918.[2] He became known as the "Chapel Builder," and by the time of his death, there were 149 churches and over 31,000 Catholics in the diocese.[4] In 1915, while attending the installation of Archbishop George Mundelein at Detroit, a German spy laced the soup at a banquet with arsenic, poisoning Gunn and four others, but the Bishop survived.[4] Following the end of World War I, he was considered for the Archbishop of New Orleans, Louisiana, but he refused the efforts.[4]

By January 1924, his failing health left him in critical condition.[1] Gunn later died from a heart attack,[4] aged 60. He is buried beside his predecessor, Bishop Thomas Heslin.[1] In his will he states, "In life and in death I am proud of three things: My Irish birth, my Catholic faith, and my American citizenship. I tried to translate my love for all three into service and sacrifice.