The fifth of seven children, Francis Howard was born on June 21, 1867, in Columbus, Ohio, to Francis and Catherine (née O'Sullivan) Howard, both Irish immigrants.[1] After attending St. Joseph Academy in Columbus, he entered Our Lady of the Angels Seminary at Niagara, New York, in 1884. Howard returned to Ohio in 1888 to continue his studies at Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West in Cincinnati.[1]
Howard was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Columbus by Bishop John Ambrose Watterson on June 16, 1891, in Columbus.[2][3] In 1901, he organized the first Columbus Diocesan School Board.[4] He also served as secretary (1904–1928), president (1928–1936), and member of the advisory board (1936–1944) of the National Catholic Educational Association in Leesburg, Virginia.[4] He was the founding pastor of Holy Rosary Church, and oversaw the construction of the school building and the church itself.[5]
On March 26, 1923, Howard was appointed the fifth bishop of Covington by Pope Pius XI.[3] He received his episcopal consecration at St. Mary's Cathedral in Covington, Kentucky, on July 15, 1923, from Archbishop Henry K. Moeller, with Bishops James Joseph Hartley and John A. Floersh serving as co-consecrators.[3]
During his 20-year tenure, Howard became a nationally recognized leader in Catholic education and established a strong system of Catholic grade schools and high schools in the diocese.[4] The Vatican named Howard as an assistant at the pontifical throne in 1928. Following the 1937 Ohio River flood that devastated Kentucky, he opened all the Catholic churches in Covington for relief purposes.[6]
Howard died of heart disease in Covington on January 18, 1944.[7] He is buried at St. Mary Cemetery in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky.[4]
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