Father Henry Duranquet, SJ: Apostle to the Tombs

Father Henry Duranquet, SJ, earned the moniker “Apostle of the Tombs” because of his 25-plus years ministering to the convicts of New York’s prisons, including the prison known as “The Tombs.” His patient Christlike work won over thousands of souls for Christ, including notorious murderers like Albert Hicks, whose hanging in 1860 was a major public event. Father Duranquet also won over the guards, doctors, and leadership of the prison system, many of whom were anti-Catholic Know Nothings. Father Duranquet spent his last few years as a spiritual guide to the Jesuits first at Worcester, Massachusetts, then at Woodstock, Maryland, where he died in 1891 at 82 years old.