Born in Fairfield, Connecticut, on June 19, 1863, Michael Otis attended St. Francis Xavier College in the 1880s and entered the Paulist Society around 1885. He made his profession on September 7, 1890 and was ordained fourteen days later with classmate Martin Casserly.
Fr. Otis immediately joined the New York mission band and stayed there for four years. In 1894 he moved to San Francisco and joined Henry Wyman on the parish staff at Old St. Mary's. A close confidant of Wyman's, he helped redecorate the church and gained local notoriety by suggesting the city demolish Chinatown's brothel district to build a public park.
After the massive 1906 earthquake he assisted in rebuilding Old St. Mary's church and finally convinced the city to create St. Mary's Park out of the Chinatown rubble.
He moved to the Winchester, Tennessee, mission band not too long afterwards and later returned to parish work at St. Paul the Apostle church in New York.
In 1919 his health began a steady decline, and he was reassigned to Portland for rest and recuperation. Besides routine parish work at St. Philip Neri church he also served as chaplain to the Holy Name Sisters at Marylhurst College.
When his health worsened he returned to New York for good in 1923 and died peacefully at the parish rectory in 1931. At the time of his death he was remembered by many as a tireless missionary, a parish worker with a "constant, gracious interest" in the lives of parishioners, and a quiet, cheerful sufferer during the last years of his life. He lived 68 years, 41 of them as a Paulist priest.
Fr. Otis immediately joined the New York mission band and stayed there for four years. In 1894 he moved to San Francisco and joined Henry Wyman on the parish staff at Old St. Mary's. A close confidant of Wyman's, he helped redecorate the church and gained local notoriety by suggesting the city demolish Chinatown's brothel district to build a public park.
After the massive 1906 earthquake he assisted in rebuilding Old St. Mary's church and finally convinced the city to create St. Mary's Park out of the Chinatown rubble.
He moved to the Winchester, Tennessee, mission band not too long afterwards and later returned to parish work at St. Paul the Apostle church in New York.
In 1919 his health began a steady decline, and he was reassigned to Portland for rest and recuperation. Besides routine parish work at St. Philip Neri church he also served as chaplain to the Holy Name Sisters at Marylhurst College.
When his health worsened he returned to New York for good in 1923 and died peacefully at the parish rectory in 1931. At the time of his death he was remembered by many as a tireless missionary, a parish worker with a "constant, gracious interest" in the lives of parishioners, and a quiet, cheerful sufferer during the last years of his life. He lived 68 years, 41 of them as a Paulist priest.
Born in Fairfield, Connecticut, on June 19, 1863, Michael Otis attended St. Francis Xavier College in the 1880s and entered the Paulist Society around 1885. He made his profession on September 7, 1890 and was ordained fourteen days later with classmate Martin Casserly.
Fr. Otis immediately joined the New York mission band and stayed there for four years. In 1894 he moved to San Francisco and joined Henry Wyman on the parish staff at Old St. Mary's. A close confidant of Wyman's, he helped redecorate the church and gained local notoriety by suggesting the city demolish Chinatown's brothel district to build a public park.
After the massive 1906 earthquake he assisted in rebuilding Old St. Mary's church and finally convinced the city to create St. Mary's Park out of the Chinatown rubble.
He moved to the Winchester, Tennessee, mission band not too long afterwards and later returned to parish work at St. Paul the Apostle church in New York.
In 1919 his health began a steady decline, and he was reassigned to Portland for rest and recuperation. Besides routine parish work at St. Philip Neri church he also served as chaplain to the Holy Name Sisters at Marylhurst College.
When his health worsened he returned to New York for good in 1923 and died peacefully at the parish rectory in 1931. At the time of his death he was remembered by many as a tireless missionary, a parish worker with a "constant, gracious interest" in the lives of parishioners, and a quiet, cheerful sufferer during the last years of his life. He lived 68 years, 41 of them as a Paulist priest.
Fr. Otis immediately joined the New York mission band and stayed there for four years. In 1894 he moved to San Francisco and joined Henry Wyman on the parish staff at Old St. Mary's. A close confidant of Wyman's, he helped redecorate the church and gained local notoriety by suggesting the city demolish Chinatown's brothel district to build a public park.
After the massive 1906 earthquake he assisted in rebuilding Old St. Mary's church and finally convinced the city to create St. Mary's Park out of the Chinatown rubble.
He moved to the Winchester, Tennessee, mission band not too long afterwards and later returned to parish work at St. Paul the Apostle church in New York.
In 1919 his health began a steady decline, and he was reassigned to Portland for rest and recuperation. Besides routine parish work at St. Philip Neri church he also served as chaplain to the Holy Name Sisters at Marylhurst College.
When his health worsened he returned to New York for good in 1923 and died peacefully at the parish rectory in 1931. At the time of his death he was remembered by many as a tireless missionary, a parish worker with a "constant, gracious interest" in the lives of parishioners, and a quiet, cheerful sufferer during the last years of his life. He lived 68 years, 41 of them as a Paulist priest.
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
