Michael Francis Egan (September 29, 1761 – July 22, 1814) was an Irish, later American, prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was born in Ireland in 1761, and joined the Franciscan Order at a young age. He served as a priest in Rome, Ireland, and Pennsylvania and became known as a gifted preacher. In 1808, Egan was appointed the first Bishop of Philadelphia, and held that position until his death in 1814. Egan's tenure as bishop saw the construction of new churches and the expansion of the Catholic Church membership in his diocese, but much of his time was consumed by disputes with the lay trustees of his pro-cathedral, St. Mary's Church in Philadelphia. He died in Philadelphia, probably of tuberculosis, in 1814. Early life and priesthood Michael Francis Egan was born in Ireland on September 29, 1761. The exact location of his birth is disputed. Early biographers believed Egan was possibly born in Galway; more recent scholarship suggests it was Limerick. He joined the Order of Friars Minor (commonly known as the Franciscans) and studied at the Old University of Leuven and Charles University in Prague. Egan received minor orders, subdiaconate, and diaconate at Mechelen, in modern-day Belgium. He was ordained a priest, probably in Prague, in 1785 or 1786. While studying on the continent, Egan became fluent in German. Egan advanced rapidly to positions of responsibility in the Franciscan order. He was appointed custos ("guardian") of the province of Munster in Ireland in March 1787. Later that year, he was also appointed custos of the Pontifical College at Sant’Isidoro a Capo le Case, the home of Irish Franciscans in Rome. Egan remained there until 1790, when he returned to Ireland and was appointed custos of Ennis. He remained in Ireland until 1787 or 1788, when he may have made a visit to the United States. After several more years as a missionary in Ireland, Egan came (or returned) to the United States in 1802. Priest in Pennsylvania Accepting an invitation from the Catholics near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Egan arrived in the United States in January 1802 to serve as assistant pastor to Louis de Barth at Conewago Chapel in Adams County. When the state legislature sat in Lancaster that year, word of Egan's preaching abilities traveled back to Philadelphia, and soon the parishioners of that city's St. Mary's Church petitioned Bishop John Carroll of Baltimore to send Egan