Bonaventure Finnbarr Francis Broderick (December 25, 1868 – November 18, 1943) was the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Cristóbal de la Habana who later ran a gas station for several years until Archbishop (future Cardinal) Francis Spellman restored his ministry, putting him in service in the Archdiocese of New York. Effective December 1, 1939, Spellman assigned the bishop to the chaplaincy of the Frances Schervier Home and Hospital in Riverdale, New York and in 1942 named him Vicar for Religious in the archdiocese.
Early life and education
Bonaventure Broderick was born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was the son of John Harris Broderick and Margaret Healy. Broderick completed his undergraduate seminary studies at St. Charles College in Ellicott City, Maryland. The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hartford sent him to the Pontifical Athenaeum S. Apollinare of Propaganda Fide while a seminarian at the North American College. In 1897, Broderick earned his PhD. He also earned a Doctor of Theology at the same university. Under the tutelage of well-known archaeologist Orazio Marucchi, Father Broderick soon became one of the foremost experts on graffiti in the catacombs of Rome. In recognition of his academic accomplishments he became the first American member of The Arcadia, the centuries-old Italian literary society.
Priesthood
On July 25, 1896, Broderick was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Hartford by then Bishop Francesco di Paola Cassetta, who was the Patriarch of Jerusalem and Viceregent of Rome. Broderick returned to the diocese and was assigned as a pastor in West Hartford, Connecticut. From 1898 to 1900, he was a faculty member at St. Thomas Seminary at Hartford, Connecticut.
When his former Italian instructor, Bishop Donato Sbarretti, was appointed as the ordinary of the Archdiocese of San Cristóbal de la Habana, he appointed Broderick as his secretary. On June 25, 1900, Broderick became the administrator of St. Francis de Sales Church in Cuba. He would later become the administrator of San Carlos and San Ambrosio Seminary. While in Cuba, as secretary to the bishop, Broderick was tasked with settling the question of Church property following the 1898 War with Spain. In recognition of his success in doing so Pope Leo XIII named Broderick a monsignor in 1901. On May 20, 1902, Broderick represented the Catholic Church recognizing the establishment of the Republic of Cuba.
Episcopacy
On September 7, 1903, Broderick was appointed by Pope Pius X as the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Cristóbal de la Habana and Titular Bishop of Iuliopolis. On October 28, 1903, he was consecrated as the Auxiliary Bishop of San Cristóbal de la Habana. His Principal Consecrator was Archbishop Placide Louis Chapelle with Archbishop Francisco de Paula Barnada y Aguilar as the Principal Co-Consecrator.
Resignation
In the fall of 1904, Archbishop Placide Chapelle, the Apostolic Delegate to Cuba went to Rome to inform the Vatican of rumors that Bishop Broderick was involved in a conspiracy to share in commissions to sell Church property. Broderick followed Chapelle to Rome and successfully defended himself. Pius X decided that rather than send the bishop back to Cuba, he should go to Washington as an auxiliary bishop to Cardinal Gibbons and manage the Peters Pence Collection throughout the United States. Gibbons objected to the arrangement and the Vatican revoked the assignment. Broderick then wrote a letter to the Holy Father saying in essence that, as a bishop, if he were left without an assignment it might appear as a scandal to some. The pope misunderstood the letter and interpreted it as a threat to cause scandal. As a result of the misunderstanding Broderick was set adrift without an assignment and a one-hundred-dollar per month pension.
On March 1, 1905, Broderick resigned as Auxiliary Bishop due to a misunderstanding with Pope Pius X and the Vatican over the collection of some funds.